`
Travelin' Cousins
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Media Kit
    • Press >
      • October 2018 Press
    • Contact
  • The "Almost" Daily Scoop
  • Travel Articles
    • Travel Adventures Articles
    • Throwback Thursdays >
      • Elisa's Throwback China Trip Adventure
    • Foodie Fridays
    • Travelin' The NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
    • Walt Disney World Wednesdays
  • Things To Do
    • Entertainment Reviews
    • New York Area
    • Southern California Area
  • Where to Stay and Things to Do
  • Where to Dine Vegan
  • Fun Fact & Travel Trivia Articles
    • Fun Facts List Directory
  • Tanya's Photo Gallery
    • Pictures from Auschwitz/Birkenau - WARNING: Mature Content/Depressing Images
  • Elisa's Photo Gallery
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before ya Go

Travelin' The NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa

Explore the history, culture and dining in The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island with Elisa!

LEARN ABOUT THE "OTHER" BOROUGHS

June 4, 2018: Poe Cottage: National Historic Place, NYC Landmark & A Legacy to An American Poet

6/8/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
Poe Cottage in Poe Park, formerly, the Valentine Estate in the Fordham section of the Bronx (c) travelincousins.com
It’s hard to imagine that the now bustling metropolis of the Bronx was once an open countryside and rural setting Westchester county back in the 19th Century.

Even more obscure to imagine is that everything north of 42nd Street in Manhattan was quite pastoral in the year 1846 when American poet Edgar Allan Poe left his downtown home to move to the Fordham section of the Bronx. 

Believing and hoping that the fresh, country air would benefit his tuberculosis stricken wife, Poe rented a small cottage on the Valentine farmland estate, for which he paid $100 annually. Unfortunately, the poet’s efforts would be in vain as Virginia Poe would succumb to the disease six months after their arrival.
Picture
Virginia Poe's Bedroom on the first floor of Poe Cottage in Poe Park, The Bronx (c) travelincousins.com
This very sad story along with a plethora of historical facts were garnered by me and my fourteen year old daughter Gianna, by our knowledgeable and gracious tour guide Glen Martinez at Poe Cottage during our visit last month. Usually, I cannot get my teen to accompany me on anything historic, but visiting the the home of the famed Edgar Allan Poe, held a great deal of interest to her and motivated her to join me.

From a historical perspective, not only was this cottage the home of Edgar Allan Poe for three years, but it is also the second oldest house in the Bronx, believed to have been built in 1797, with the oldest being Van Cortland House, dating back to 1748.

Today, Poe Cottage is part of the Historic House Trust and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1980. Interestingly, the little house was not always situated at its current location.  It was moved from Kingsbridge and Briggs to the current location in 1913, as part of a restoration, which, at that time, cost the city of New York $5,000 or $100,000 by today’s standards.
Picture
The Kitchen - quite small and simple (c) travelincousins.com
Picture
Living Room of Poe Cottage with original items – rocking chair and mirror (c) traveincousins.com
The cottage itself, is quite small, with its modest interior and room sizes.  What it lacks in stature and square footage, it more than makes up as a representative example of an 1840’s-era country cottage.  Clad with very wide planked wood floor throughout, an utterly narrow staircase leading to a second floor with one bedroom and Poe’s study and virtually, intact period decor, the former Poe residence provides insight into the world in which the poet lived over one hundred-seventy years ago.

The living room for example, contains several original pieces, including a mirror and rocking chair, set a few feet away from a large bust of Poe sculpted in 1909, for the 100th Year Anniversary of his birth. Adjacent to this room on the first floor is the bedroom within which, Poe’s wife would eventually die.
Picture
Sculpture of Edgar Allan Poe stands in the living room of Poe Cottage (c) travelincousins.com
Terribly depressed after Virginia's passing, the surrounding neighborhood and local area of the Bronx provided Poe with a few favorite spots that he would frequent often. Nearby St. John’s College, now Fordham University was one of these. Run by the Jesuits, we were told during our tour that the poet got on well with the priests, spending time at the college library and speaking French with them.  He would also be baptized at the college.

The High Bridge and its rocky ledge along The Bronx River was another nearby destination that Poe is said to have spent a great deal of time - walking back and forth, hours at a time. Situated on the land that was then-owned by St. John’s College, it is now part of the land that comprises The New York Botanical Gardens.
Picture
Me and Mr. Poe (c) travelincousins.com
Some of Poe’s greatest works were written during the time he resided in the Bronx, including the poem "Annabel Lee", "Eureka," a lengthy non-fiction work which he subtitled "A Prose Poem", though it has also been subtitled as "An Essay on the Material and Spiritual Universe", "The Cask of Amontillado" and most notably, as it relates to the Bronx,  “The Bells” about the chapel bell on St. John’s College campus. In fact, the chapel bell was named Old Edgar Allan, in Poe’s honor. 

Poe moved out of the Bronx and died in Baltimore at the age of forty in 1849.  His death is still a cold case, as he was said to have died from “congestion of the brain,” a loose medical term, but the actual cause of death has never been definitively determined, adding to the the mysterious legacy of the poet.   

Edgar Allan Poe is remembered for his bizarre and thought provoking poems and short stories and has been called the Father of the Modern Detective story because of his creation of C. Auguste Dupin, the first literary ‘genius detective,’ which pre-dates Sherlock Holmes.

Poe Cottage is a piece of American and Bronx History and a must-see for kids and adults alike. 
-Elisa

Picture
(c) travelincousins.com
For Your Information
Poe Cottage/Poe Park
2640 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10458
(718) 881-8900

Hours:
Thursday    10AM–3PM
Friday    10AM–3PM
Saturday    10AM–4PM
Sunday    1–5PM
1 Comment
Mary
2/19/2022 05:30:13 am

Request information, on all parks in the Bronx.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

               Elisa 

     Elisa is co-founder of Travelin' Cousins travel blog along with her cousin "Travelin' Tanya." She lives on Long Island, New York with her two daughters and her dog Punkin. An entrepreneur whose professional career has included a variety of businesses in the toy, licensing and direct marketing businesses, she is now a blogger and freelance writer. Since her teen years, she has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and continues to travel these days throughout the world with her daughters and cousin Tanya. Her other passions include photography, cooking, dining, the theatre and shopping.   

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

The Scoop Blog
Travel Adventure Articles
Travelin' the NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
Walt Disney World Wednesdays
Travel Resource Guide
Vegan Dining Guide

                                                      
Fun Fact and Travel Trivia Articles
Elisa and Tanya's Favorites
Travel Tips - Know Before You Go
​
About
​Contact Us 
​Media Kit 
​
All of the photos on Travelin Cousins are taken by the Travelin’ Cousins Photographers unless otherwise noted. If you wish to use any content from Travelin Cousins please credit and link to the source or request permission by email.
(c) Travelin' Cousins 2020 -2024 All Rights Reserved