Why did Nathaniel Hawthorne live at Brook Farm?

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A son of Salem — Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestors in Salem, Massachusetts, were Puritans named Hathorne. He added a w to his name when he began writing.

Nathaniel Hawthorne joined Brook Farm in 1841 as part of his efforts to secure a livelihood, as he struggled to earn a dependable income solely through his writing.12

At the commune, Hawthorne served as one of the first directors of agriculture. The experiment was designed to combine intellectual and manual labor, aiming to foster a simpler, more wholesome life away from the pressures of competitive institutions. However, Hawthorne’s time there was short-lived; he found that he was unable to write while living in the communal environment and departed after six months. He later drew upon his experiences at the farm for his 1852 novel, The Blithedale Romance.3