Edgar Allan Poe museum in downtown Richmond is interesting for young learners, children and families

Courtyard fountain at Edgar Allan Poe Museum in downtown Richmond, VA.

Consider taking a self-guided tour at the Edgar Allan Poe Museum in downtown Richmond with the kids. Of particular interest to children is the model of Richmond as it appeared during Poe’s lifetime.

Children will love identifying the numbers of buildings, many of which were demolished, with the buildings in the model. Many of these landmarks include Yarrington Boarding House, Swann Tavern, and Monumental Church. Buildings in the model that are still standing in the City of Richmond today include St. John’s Church, and the home of Poe’s fiancé, Elmira Royster Shelton, on Grace Street in Church Hill.

Children will also enjoy the gardens, courtyard fountain, and bust of Poe, as well as a special exhibit in the Exhibit Building featuring a movie about Poe’s life, and a historic staircase, which is narrow and rickety. Another point of interest for children is the large green door with a peculiar lock that was supposedly taken from the infamous Libby Prison, as well as a pulley and cellar door located at the back of the Memorial Building. Most of the bricks and granite in the Poe Shrine where the bust of Poe is displayed were salvaged from the offices of the Southern Literary Messenger, the magazine at which Poe began his career in journalism.

If visiting with children, weekdays are the best days to visit, as there is limited parking beside the museum. If visiting with a stroller, the museum staff can open a side gate to accommodate strollers or handicapped persons on wheels. Most of the exhibit buildings have one step, which is difficult to maneuver with a stroller, but once inside the enclosed courtyard, the kids will have fun exploring the various exhibit buildings and gardens on foot.

Poe is of particular interest to children (young readers) because he is coined “America’s Shakespeare,” and created/mastered the short story, detective fiction, science fiction, lyric poetry and horror fiction. He is characterized by a dark genius that is intriguing to both children and adults alike.
The museum is proud to house one of the world’s finest collections of Edgar Allan Poe’s manuscripts, letters, first editions, memorabilia and personal belongings. The museum has recreated what life was like in Richmond in the early 19th century, where Poe lived and worked. The museum documents Poe’s accomplishments with pictures, relics, and verse.

The museum, called The Old Stone House, was opened in 1922, and is blocks away from Poe’s first Richmond home and his first place of employment, the Southern Literary Messenger.

The Poe Museum owns one of the largest collections of Poe memorabilia in the world, much of it now currently on display. Fans of Poe will enjoy seeing the walking stick he accidentally left in Richmond fewer than two weeks before his mysterious death, the key found in his pocket during his final delirious days that opened the trunk in which he packed his few possessions, and the lock of hair a friend clipped from the poet's famously lofty brow after he died.

Model of Richmond in Poe’s Time: The noted Richmond sculptor Edward Valentine, suggested to Mr. and Mrs. Archer Jones that a model of Richmond in Poe's time be made and recommended Miss Edith Ragland as the builder. After much research with the help of the City Engineer's office and local historians work began in 1925. The model was to depict the area from 5th (Moldavia) to 25th Streets (St. John's Church). “Moldavia,” which has been destroyed, was one of Poe’s homes.

Completed in 1927, the model remained in the West Room of the Old Stone House until 1964 when it was moved to its present building. Miss Ragland was again hired to restore the model and repair any damage caused by the move. Sergi Troubetzky completed additional renovations in 1984. The disastrous fire of November 1999 required restoration and cleaning which employees Michelle Dell' Aria and Chris Semtner completed late in 2000. At that time the model was moved from the east to west wall, tilted for better viewing and a time line was added.

First editions: An exhibit of first editions of Poe's work includes the expected, an 1845 copy of The Raven and other Poems, and the unexpected, a rare textbook on conchology, which became a bestseller and led to accusations against Poe of plagiarism when it was discovered he only wrote the introduction. Also on display are a facsimile of Poe' s first book, Tamerlane, the 1827 publishing flop that is now the rarest and most valuable piece of American literature, an original manuscript of the mysterious prose poem "Siope" written in Poe's fastidious hand and the edition of "Godey's Lady's Book" in which Poe's scandalous and highly popular, "Literati of New York City," was published. This is the gleefully opinionated piece of literary gossip that made Poe unwelcome in the drawing rooms of successful New York writers while ensuring his East Coast notoriety.

Theories of Poe’s death: Poe died in a hospital on October 7, 1849. The cause of his death is not known. The exhibit displays some of the various suggested causes.
1857 Beating
1874 Epilepsy
1921 Dipsomania
1926 Heart
1970 Toxic Disorder
1970 Hypoglycemia
1977 Diabetes
1984 Alcohol Dehydrogenase

1989 Porphyria
1992 Delirium Tremens
1996 Rabies
1997 Heart
1998 Murder (Beating)
1999 Epilepsy
1999 Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Download a pdf of the self-guided tour.

Poe Audio Tour: Prepare for your visit to the Poe Museum by downloading the audio tour to you mp3 player now to listen to during your visit. The tour provides an overview of the museum's exhibits and major artifacts. Visit the website www.poemuseum.org to download the audio tour.

Museum Hours:
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Self-guided tour available. Please call ahead for times of guided tours. The Gift Shop closes at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday- Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Call for guided tours. Gift shop closes at 4:30 p.m.
Monday: Closed
Admission: Adults/ $6, Seniors/ $5, Students & AAA members/ $5, Members/ Free, Children / Free. Group tours are available by appointment. Call (804) 648-5523, (888) 21-EAPOE or e-mail info@poemuseum.org.

Poe’s Life (by James Southall Wilson):

Edgar Allan Poe was born January 19, 1809 in Boston, where his mother had been employed as an actress. Elizabeth Arnold Poe died in Richmond on December 8, 1811, and Edgar was taken into the family of John Allan, a member of the firm of Ellis and Allan, tobacco-merchants.

After attending schools in England and Richmond, young Poe registered at the University of Virginia on February 14, 1826, the second session of the University. He lived in Room 13, West Range. He became an active member of the Jefferson Literary Society, and passed his courses with good grades at the end of the session in December. Mr. Allan failed to give him enough money for necessary expenses, and Poe made debts of which his so-called father did not approve. When Mr. Allan refused to let him return to the University, a quarrel ensued, and Poe was driven from the Allan home without money. Mr. Allan probably sent him a little money later, and Poe went to Boston. There he published a little volume of poetry, Tamerlane and Other Poems. It is such a rare book now that a single copy has sold for $200,000.00.

 
In Boston on May 26, 1827, Poe enlisted in The United States Army as a private using the name Edgar A. Perry. After two years of service, during which he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant-major, he secured, with Mr. Allan's aid, a discharge from the Army and went to Baltimore. He lived there with his aunt, Mrs. Maria Poe Clemm, on the small amounts of money sent by Mr. Allan until he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Meanwhile, Poe published a second book of poetry in 1829: Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane and Minor Poems. After another quarrel with Allan (who had married a second wife in 1830), Poe no longer received aid from his foster father. Poe then took the only method of release from the Academy, and got himself dismissed on March 6, 1831.

Soon after Poe left West Point, a third volume appeared: Poems by Edgar Allan Poe, Second Edition. While living in Baltimore with his aunt, Mrs. Clemm, young Poe began writing prose tales. Five of these appeared in the Philadelphia Saturday Courier in 1832.

With the December issue of 1835, Poe began editing the Southern Literary Messenger for Thomas W. White in Richmond; he held this position until January, 1837. During this time, Poe married his young cousin, Virginia Clemm in Richmond on May 16, 1836.

Poe's slashing reviews and sensational tales made him widely known as an author; however, he failed to find a publisher for a volume of burlesque tales, Tales of the Folio Club. Harpers did, however, print his book-length narrative, Arthur Gordon Pym in July of 1838.

Little is known about Poe's life after he left the Messenger; however, in 1838 he went to Philadelphia where he lived for six years. He was an editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine from July, 1839 to June, 1840, and of Graham's Magazine from April, 1841 to May, 1842. In April, 1844, with barely car fare for his family of three, [including his aunt, Virginia's mother, who lived with them], Poe went to New York where he found work on the New York Evening Mirror.

In 1840, Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was published in two volumes in Philadelphia. In 1845, Poe became famous with the spectacular success of his poem "The Raven," and in March of that year, he joined C. F. Briggs in an effort to publish The Broadway Journal. Also in 1845,Wiley and Putnam issued Tales by Edgar A. Poe and The Raven and Other Poems.

The year 1846 was a tragic one. Poe rented the little cottage at Fordham, where he lived the last three years of his life. The Broadway Journal failed, and Virginia became very ill and died on January 30, 1847. After his wife's death, Poe perhaps yielded more often to a weakness for drink, which had beset him at intervals since early manhood. He was unable to take even a little alcohol without a change of personality, and any excess was accompanied by physical prostration. Throughout his life those illnesses had interfered with his success as an editor, and had given him a reputation for intemperateness that he scarcely deserved.

In his later years, Poe was interested in several women. They included the poetess, Mrs. Sarah Helen Whitman, Mrs. Charles Richmond, and the widow, Mrs. Sarah Elmira Shelton, whom he had known in his boyhood as Miss Royster.

The circumstances of Poe's death remain a mystery. After a visit to Norfolk and Richmond for lectures, he was found in Baltimore in a pitiable condition and taken unconscious to a hospital where he died on Sunday, October 7, 1849. He was buried in the yard of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, Maryland.

In personal appearance, Poe was a quiet, shy-looking but handsome man; he was slightly built, and was five feet, eight inches in height. His mouth was considered beautiful. His eyes, with long dark lashes, were hazel-gray.

Selected Works:

The Masque of the Red Death
Published 1838
The Cask of Amontillado
Published 1847
The Tell-Tale Heart
Published 1843

The Murders in the Rue Morgue
Published 1841
The Fall of the House of Usher
Published 1839
The Raven
Published 1845

For more information about the museum, please call (804) 648-5523 or (888) 21-EAPOE, visit the website at www.poemuseum.org.