Poe’s engagement ring is evidence of the tragic love story of Poe and his first and last fiancée Elmira Royster Shelton.
Engaged as teenagers only to have their engagement broken by her father, Poe and Shelton became engaged a second time in the last months of his life.
The mahogany fragment came from the original coffin in which Poe was buried on October 8, 1849.
In 1875, Poe’s body was moved across the cemetery from his unmarked grave to a better location where a large monument could be placed over his grave
The gold watch is engraved “Edgar A. Poe.” In 1843, Poe gave the watch to one of his creditors to pay off a debt. Although the watch has remained in private hands ever since, its existence has been known through newspaper articles about it dating from the 1880s until it appeared at auction at Christies in 2019.
Edgar Allan Poe’s waistcoat, kept by his mother-in-law Maria Poe Clemm after his death in 1849.
It was kept in a trunk of Poe’s clothing by Maria Poe Clemm, who left it to her niece Elizabeth Rebecca Herring Smith in 1871.
2025 Student Poetry Contest Winners
The Poe Museum celebrated National Poetry Month this spring by hosting its annual student poetry contest. Middle and high school students across the U.S. were encouraged to write poems based
19th Century Black Americans: Their Life, Literature, and Influence on Poe
This Black History Month, the Poe Museum seeks to provide resources on the life and literature of Black Americans in the 19th century. The lives of Black Americans directly shaped
Welcome to Our New Board Members!
The Poe Museum is excited to announce additions to its Board of Directors during a pivotal time for the 100+ year old institution. As the Museum embarks on a complete
