National Register of Historic Places

Frost Place

Franconia, Grafton County, New Hampshire
Listed
November 30, 1976
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
76000126

About this property

The Frost Place is a museum and nonprofit educational center for poetry located at Robert Frost's former home on Ridge Road in Franconia, New Hampshire, United States. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. According to local family lore, poet Robert Frost spotted this property on the west side of Franconia's Ridge Road in 1915 while looking for a home in the area. He purchased it from farmer Willis Herbert, who reportedly moved into his cousin's empty house down the road. The house is 1½ stories in height, with a long front facade covered by a porch. The facade affords fine views of the Franconia Range and Mount Lafayette. Frost and his family lived in the house until 1920. It remained a private residence until The Frost Place was founded in 1976 when the farm was purchased by the town of Franconia, restored, and given its name, opening as a museum in 1977. Since 1977, the Frost Place has awarded a resident poet award to an emerging American poet, which includes a stipend and the opportunity to live and write in the house during the summer. From 2013 until 2022, The Frost Place offered an annual chapbook prize, with the winning chapbook published by Bull City Press. Past winners include Jill Osier, Lisa Gluskin Stonestreet, Anders Carlson-Wee, Tiana Clark, Yuki Tanaka, Cassandra Bruner, Aa Hee Lee, and Ethan Chua. In December 2025, The Frost Place was named a recipient of a Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) grant awarded by the state of New Hampshire. The grant funding is intended to support a preservation project addressing long-standing water intrusion and structural issues in the farmhouse. The Latinx Scholarship is a merit-based award administered by The Frost Place as part of its annual Conference on Poetry. Established to encourage and support Latinx voices in poetry and the literary arts, the scholarship covers tuition, room and board, and travel for conference participants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference on Poetry was held virtually. Recipients are selected from the conference applicant pool by a panel of readers based on the quality of submitted work and responses to application questions. Applicants must self-identify as Latinx, demonstrate a commitment to the Latinx community, and meet age eligibility requirements. In 2024, The Frost Place hired poet Patrick Donnelly to lead as Program Director. He continues to direct the annual Poetry Seminar. For many years, The Frost Place sponsored a Conference on Poetry, and a Conference on Poetry and Teaching. The Conference on Poetry was directed by poet Gabrielle Calvocoressi, with poet Ross White serving as Associate Director. The Conference on Poetry and Teaching and the Writing Intensive was directed by poet Dawn Potter; associate director was poet and teacher Kerrin McCadden.

Location

Franconia, Grafton County, New Hampshire
44.21295, -71.75694

Categories

LITERATURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Overview
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The Land
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Geology
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Conflict & War
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The Civil War
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The Soldiers
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Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
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The Community
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Finds & Access
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Literature
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Nearby Historic Sites

Dow Academy
Industrial
1 mi
Greenleaf, Abbie, Library
Industrial
1.2 mi
Lovett's by Lafayette Brook
Industrial
1.8 mi
Felsengarten
Industrial
3.9 mi
Rocks Estate
Industrial
4.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Frost Place listed on the National Register?

Frost Place was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 30, 1976.

What type of historic resource is Frost Place?

Frost Place is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Frost Place?

The period of significance for Frost Place is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Frost Place?

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