Visiting the Edgar Allen Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia is a must experience. Although born in Boston in 1809, Poe considered himself a Virginian. He was only two years old when his actress mother Eliza Poe, died in Richmond, where he was taken in and raised by family friends, John and Frances Allan. Schooled, thanks to the Allans, in both in England and Richmond, he excelled in poetry, acting, ancient and modern languages, and showed an aptitude for swimming as well, unfortunately, as gambling. He remained in Richmond, gaining his initial literary reputation, until 1827 when he and Frances Allen argued, and he departed for Boston, where he enlisted in the US Army.
Located in the oldest standing building in the historic Shockoe Bottom District of Richmond, the Poe Museum boasts the world's finest collection of his manuscripts, letters, first editions, pictures, memorabilia and personal belongings. The museum consists of four buildings and the Enchanted Garden. One gets a taste of early 19th century life in Richmond while viewing Poe’s relics in the several rooms open to visitors. The small central garden, surrounded by ancient boxwoods and presided over by a bust of Edgar Allen, instills a sense of contemplation and serenity. Listen carefully and you may even hear his voice reciting a few lines from "The Raven".
During his time in the Army, Poe continued to write, publishing Tamerlane and Other Poems, and two years later, Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. Prior to his honorable discharge, Poe was transferred to Ft. Monroe, Virginia and promoted to Sergeant Major. He had a very brief, unsuccessful stint at West Point, and when expelled, moved in with his aunt Maria Clemm and her daughter Virginia, in what even then was even then was considered “the projects” or the poorer section of Baltimore. While living with the Clemm's he wrote “To Helen” a tribute to Frances Allen who had since died. It was also while living here, short story, “MS. Found in a Bottle”, wins a literary prize in 1833 and is published in Baltimore Saturday Visitor, on October 19th. This success led to a job opportunity which brought him back to Richmond in 1835 as an assistant editor on the Southern Literary Messenger. He brings the Clemm's down to live with him, and soon marries the 13-year old Virginia.
Eleven years ensue in which Poe writes the famous "Tell-Tale Heart", "The Cask of Amontillado", "The Pit and the Pendulum", and "The Raven", among many, many other stories and poems, while bouncing between New York and Philadelphia. Two years after Virginia’s death in 1847, and ill himself, he returns to Richmond to visit friends and present a lecture. While there, he becomes engaged to Sarah Elmira Sheldon, with whom he had been secretly engaged when living in Richmond 24 years prior.
Ever restless, and increasingly ill, Poe continued to move between New York, Richmond and Baltimore. On October 3, 1849 he was found collapsed on the streets of Baltimore outside Gunner’s Hall, a local public house. He was delirious, "in great distress, and... in need of immediate assistance," according to Dr. Snodgrass, the man who found him. Snodgrass and Henry Herring, the husband of Poe's aunt Elizabeth, took him to Westminster College Hospital where he never regained consciousness sufficiently to tell the doctor how he had arrived at his dire condition. Edgar Allen Poe died at five o'clock on Sunday morning, October 7, and was buried on October 9, 1849.
Numerous theories of his death have been proposed over the years, including several forms of rare brain disease, diabetes, various types of enzyme deficiency, syphilis, as well as the idea Poe was shanghaied, drugged, and used as a pawn in a ballot-box-stuffing scam during the election held on the day he was found. The most recent theory of his death is rabies, proposed by Dr. R. Michael Benitez, based upon Poe’s symptoms in the days prior to his death. Since cats often played a prominent part in many of his stories, it was conjectured he was accidentally bitten by a rabid pet.
In the absence of contemporary documentation (all surviving accounts are either incomplete or published years after the event; even Poe's death certificate, if one was ever existed, has been lost), it is likely that the cause of Poe's death will never be known, which somehow seems fitting.
Edgar Allan Poe is buried in a cemetery next to Westminster Hall in Baltimore, just one block from the University of Maryland Medical Center. His original burial site is located near the back corner of the cemetery. Across the top of the tombstone a majestic raven stands guard over Poe’s best-known line: "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore." The rest of the inscription reads: "Original Burial Place of Edgar Allan Poe from October 9, 1849 until November 17, 1875. Mrs. Maria Clemm, his mother-in-law, lies upon his right and Virginia Poe, his wife, upon his left under the monument erected to him in this cemetery."
In 1875, his coffin was removed to a more prominent location at the southeastern corner of the cemetery, where a large monument to him now stands.
Make your pilgrimage to either Richmond and/or Baltimore to commune with Poe. There are events planned in honor of him at both locations.
Richmond: Edgar Allen Poe Museum: 1914-16 E. Main St. Richmond, VA 23223.
(http://www.poemuseum.org/) (804) 648-5523.
Baltimore: Westminster Hall and Cemetery: at the intersection of Fayette and Greene Streets.
The Baltimore Poe House (http://www.eapoe.org/index.htm): 203 Amity Street is a few blocks from the cemetery. Call for information (410) 396-7932.
Edgar Allen Poe Shrine in the Enchanted Gardens
A View of the Enchanted Garden from Poe’s Shrine
Tombstone at Poe’s Original Burial Site
Photos by Thomas Lera
