The Frost Place

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.

History

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.

Conferences

Latinx Scholarship

The Latinx Scholarship is a merit-based award administered by 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.

Award recipients

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.

Management

A board of trustees assumed responsibility for the management of the museum and associated programs, and Donald Sheehan served as executive director until 2005. In 2006, the trustees appointed Jim Schley to be Sheehan's successor. From the fall of 2008 until April 2011 the trustees managed The Frost Place. Maudelle Driskell was named executive director in April 2011 and served until 2023, when Stacy Holmes was hired as Interim Executive Director in the fall of that year. In 2024, Stacy Holmes was appointed Executive Director. Friends of the Frost Place is the nonprofit organization that manages The Frost Place house-museum and its programs.