Edgar Allan Poe in Richmond

Just two short months ago we visited the Poe House in Baltimore, so of course we made sure to visit the Poe Museum in Richmond, Va. If you refresh yourself on that story, you’ll recall that Poe was in dire straights when his mother died, his father having already abandoned the family, but his fortunes reversed when the wealthy Allans of Richmond took him in.

But it was not smooth sailing, as Mrs. Allan thought Poe was da bomb, but Mr. Allan thought he was an ungrateful brat. The Allans never formally adopted Poe, despite his carrying their name the rest of his life, and things went south fast after Mrs. Allan passed away when Poe was just 20.

You may have noticed that Richmond has a Poe museum, not a house. The home where Poe lived with the Allans is long gone (though the staircase was saved and can be seen in the museum). What we have here actually started more as a memorial to Poe.

When Poe was 15, the Allans inherited $750k, which is a whopping $21.5 million in today’s funds. They bought a large mansion and filled it with expensive things, such as this Chinese soup plate.

Mrs. Allan seems like a sweet young lady.

Not just Poe’s first fiance, but his last, too! They reconnected later in life, and we engaged to be married again — but Poe died mysteriously just 10 days before the marriage was to take place.

Apparently the bust needs to be cleaned every Friday.

More than a century ago, a group of literary enthusiasts decided a monument to Poe was needed in his hometown. Established as the Poe Memorial Association in 1906, the group failed to raise the funds they needed. In 1909, they made a plea for a Poe statue to the city, but the city said no, he was too disreputable a character. Poor Poe can’t catch a break, even in death.

Eventually the group found an empty lot in which to plant a Poe memorial garden. The bricks used to lay the path and build the shrine were salvaged from the Southern Literary Messenger building where Poe had launched his journalism career.

Did I say “shrine?” That’s right, the group opened the Poe Shrine in 1922, including a bust of Poe at which to worship. The garden and shrine were inspired by Poe’s poem “To One in Paradise”, which reads in part:

Thou wast that all to me, love,

For which my soul did pine—

A green isle in the sea, love,

A fountain and a shrine,

All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,

And all the flowers were mine.

So you see, we’ve got the green isle, the fountain, the shrine, the flowers. What more could you want to memorialize a great writer?