“From childhood's hour I have not been as others were, I have not seen as others saw. I could not awaken my heart to joy at the same tone, and all I loved I loved alone.” Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809 and died forty years later on Sunday, October 7th in Washington Medical College. The circumstances surrounding his death continue to be the object of numerous theories but his impact on the world of literature is set in stone.
Poe was born to actors Elizabeth and David Poe in Boston. David abandoned the family when he was one and Elizabeth died the following year in 1811. The orphan went to live with John Allan, a wealthy tobacco merchant and his wife Frances. Initially the family resided in a Richmond, VA house at Second and Franklin Streets, the first of several Richmond residences.
Richmond has a strong claim to Poe’s legacy through exhibits at the Poe Museum complex that holds the world’s largest collection of Poe memorabilia and artifacts and is the sole museum dedicated to a literary figure in Virginia. The museum complex is showcased in the 1740 Old Stone House, the oldest extant residential structure in the city.
He was stationed to guard the house as part of the Youth Honor Guard when the Marquis de Lafayette visited in October of 1824. Poe never lived in the house but it is only a few blocks from his first childhood home and near his first workplace.
The concept for the museum, originally conceived as a monument, was the brainchild of James Whitty, an avid collector of Poe memorabilia, and a group of other admirers. They founded the Poe Memorial Association, in 1906, around the theme of Poe’s poem “To One in Paradise”. They did not garner enough support until 10-years later when they salvaged construction materials from the Southern Literary Messenger building.
Preservationists allowed them to construct a shrine and memorial Enchanted Garden in the area behind the Old Stone House with the salvaged granite and bricks. The site opened to the public on April 26, 1922. The shrine at the rear of the garden showcases a bust of Poe. Visitors should take special note of the numerous details that relate to Poe’s life. The ivy lining the green was relocated from the grave of Poe’s mother and the garden benches were removed from the boarding house where Poe wed his 13-year-old first cousin Virginia Clemm. The Enchanted Garden is the site of numerous lectures, programs and events. “Unhappy Hour”, revelries with a Tell-Tale Heart trial, is held every third Thursday of the month. The museum is available for rentals and weddings.
Poe was a cat lover and two black felines, Pluto and Edgar, live on the grounds. Pluto is the name of the cat in Poe’s short story “The Black Cat”.
The collection is housed chronologically within three structures, the Old Stone House, the Memorial Building, and the North Building. The Old Stone House focuses on his personal life through exhibited portraits of significant people in his life, women he loved and his childhood bed.
The Memorial Building contains his work desk and chair and career related artifacts. Items of his clothing are displayed along with his pocket watch. An empty coffin allows visitors to step inside and experience a buried alive photo op.
Items exploring his mysterious demise and theories and research surrounding it are featured in the North Building. On display are his trunk, walking stick and a lock of his hair. “Poe’s Tell-Tale Hair” focuses on a 2002 analysis of a hair sample that did not add substantially to information on his cause of death. We still know only that he was found on Election Day, insensible and dressed in clothing that appeared not to be his.
Purchases made in the gift shop support the museum. As well as the expected T-shirts, mugs and magnets there are many items that are unique and a bit quirky. The shop is well worth a visit.
Poe stares dolefully out of a window in one of the buildings. Seek him out as you search for the real Edgar Allan Poe following in the footsteps of scores of international guests including H. P. Lovecraft and Salvador Dali.
“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night" Poe (1841)
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