Stephen Longfellow II (1723-1790) purchased land in Gorham in 1761. The farm initially consisted of 100 acres of land, with an additional 100 acres purchased in 1775. Stephen's son Stephen Longfellow III (1750-1824), known as Judge Longfellow, also lived at the farm after the family home in Falmouth (Portland) was destroyed by the British Navy in 1775.

Judge Longfellow's estate, called "Longfellow Elms," is the mansion described in this advertisement. Its unclear exactly when the home was built, likely within the final decades of the 18th century.

The poet Henry Wasdworth Longfellow was the great-grandson of Stephen Longfellow II, and grandson of Judge Longfellow. The poet spent time in the summer months at his grandfather's farm.