Longfellow returned to the United States in 1836 and took up the professorship at Harvard. He was required to live in Cambridge to be close to the campus and, therefore, rented rooms at the Craigie House in the spring of 1837. The home was built in 1759 and was the headquarters of George Washington during the Siege of Boston beginning in July 1775. Elizabeth Craigie owned the home, the widow of Andrew Craigie, and she rented rooms on the second floor. Previous boarders included Jared Sparks, Edward Everett, and Joseph Emerson Worcester. It is preserved today as the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site.