Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast (Fall River, Massachusetts)
Although the house where Lizzie… er, somebody… took an axe and gave her parents 81 whacks has changed hands recently, it is still, thankfully, a bed and breakfast. I can’t wait to visit!
Edward Gorey House (Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts)
Visit the house where the Master of the Macabre worked his genius. Original artwork is on display too!
Site of the Great Molasses Flood (Boston, Massachusetts)
Heather sends me the following description of the site of the Great Molasses Flood from Boston-Online.Com: “Great Molasses Flood: Commercial Street and Cobb’s Hill Terrace, North End. If you had to choose how to die, drowning in molasses would probably not rank high on your list. On Jan. 15, 1919, 21 people, a dozen horses and at least one cat had no choice. A 58-foot-high, 90-foot-wide cast-iron tank holding 2.2 million gallons of molasses burst, sending a tsunami of the viscous liquid down Commercial at 35 m.p.h., destroying houses, commercial buildings and a part of the elevated railroad. Today, no monument marks the disaster (the closest you’ll get is a small sailors’ memorial in the playground off Commercial showing a ship going under). But climb up the terrace (which looks like a stone medieval rampart), look out over Commercial Street toward the harbor and imagine a three-story wall of molasses flowing past.”
Nikki writes to tell us about visiting this site:
“After reading about this flood on my MFDJ email a long time back I’ve been nearly obsessed with this event. Read everything I could on it. Telling everyone I meet about it. So finally the day came that my Significant Other and I were taking a trip to that area. I demanded we find the site of the great flood!! I swear we looked friggin’ everywhere for this. Found a really awesome cemetery, but nothing on the flood. We scavenged the entire area on the map that was the location to no avail. Finally as we were giving up and leaving I passed by a teeny tiny little sign on a wall, about 2 feet high. The sign was at knee level where anyone could miss it. Needless to say I was not pleased, but at least glad there was something there. Personally I’d love to see a giant bronze statue depicting the wave and people drowning in it, but alas. At least some kind of monument would have been nice.”
Site of the Cocoanut Grove Fire (Boston, Massachusetts)
Heather sends me the following description from Boston-Online.Com: “The Cocoanut Grove Fire – Piedmont Street, Bay Village. On Nov. 28, 1942, the Cocoanut Grove was crowded with revelers. Fire broke out. But except for a revolving door at the front, the exits were locked. And that door quickly jammed. Some 492 people died – many piled up by the door – in the worst fire disaster in U.S. history. The fire led to dramatic changes in fire codes (and to this day, Massachusetts fire departments are among the toughest in the country in enforcing them). Many of the survivors had their lives saved by a revolutionary new drug – penicillin.”
Site of the Boston Massacre (Boston, Massachusetts)
A simple circle of cobblestones mark the site where five American colonists were killed by British soldiers in 1770. The brutality of this incident helped spark the anti-British rage that ultimately led to the American Revolution.
Point Lookout (St. Mary’s County, Maryland)
“One of the most haunted places in Maryland, Point Lookout was one the largest confederate prison camp during the Civil War. There are so many ghost sightings that the rangers keep a log of them.” (Thanks to Myponine for the suggestion.)
Antietam National Battlefield (Sharpsburg, Maryland)
This Civil War site marks the end of General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North in September 1862. The battle claimed more than 23,000 men killed, wounded, and missing in one single day, September 17,1862, and led to Lincoln’s issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
National Museum of Civil War Medicine (Frederick, Maryland)
I went to this museum back in 2001, but I couldn’t do a travelogue on it because they did not allow me to take pictures. I can tell you that it is an interesting place to visit, with dioramas depicting injured soldiers and the techniques that were used to tend to the them. There are lots of scary looking old amputation kits, as well as stories and photos of injured individuals. Recommended.
Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick, Maryland)
THE2 recommends this cemetery which “contains the grave of Francis Scott Key, the man who wrote ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. The text of the poem is written on the monument on the grave site.”
Edgar Allan Poe’s Gravesite
Westminster Hall, Baltimore, MD
June 13, 2001
On an oppressively hot and humid June day, I rode the light rail to downtown Baltimore to spend a half hour wandering about the hallowed morbid soil of the Westminster Burying Grounds – the churchyard and cemetery where Edgar Allan Poe’s grave is located. Perhaps you’ve heard the story of that special unknown black-clad someone who lays three red roses and a bottle of cognac at Poe’s grave every year on the anniversary of his birth. Well, this is where it happens. This is actually the third resting place for Edgar’s remains – the first two being on the other side of the burial grounds (which we’ll get to later. Edgar’s remains were disinterred and moved to this memorial gravesite in 1875.)Anyway, I wandered about the monument to see the epitaphs for other members of the Poe family all along its sides: Edgar’s beloved aunt (and mother-in-law), Edgar’s wife (and cousin), and Edgar himself. Edgar’s epitaph was significantly more eroded than the other two, which makes me think that a lot of people have placed their marble-damaging hands against his name. I refrained from such abuse of The Original Master Of The Macabre’s grave – aren’t you proud?After spending some reverent time at Edgar’s grave, I turned to explore the rest of the graveyard. There were quite a few interesting old gravestones – including this one which, though partially concealed, reveals a poignant elegy: “Sacred to the memory of Fanny H. Peachey, Consort of Thomas G. Peachey, who was born November the 24, 1799 and departed this transitory life February the 11, 1822, in the 23rd year of her age. The amiable qualities of this interesting female were such as endeared her to all who knew her: she was a dutiful child and a truly affectionate wife. In early life she bore the cross of Jesus and by that life has left ample reason to believe that she has ascended to the… bliss.” Yep, Fanny was Peachey! <groan…>Many of the graves here were of a rather peculiar design (by west coast standards, that is). They looked rather depressingly like crematoriums more than crypts. And these ones against the wall weren’t very pretty either. But, by and large, hospital construction next door aside, I thought it was a most attractive and serene little cemetery. Here are some additional photographs from the site (with descriptions when applicable).
Unfortunately, I arrived at the Burying Grounds on a Wednesday afternoon, and tours of the graveyard and catacombs are only given on Fridays, so I wasn’t able to view the catacombs. If anyone has actually seen them, please let me know what they’re like and send any pictures you might have so I can flesh out – so to speak – this page. Rumor has it that they put on an excellent Halloween tour as well. I’d love to go to that some year! For more information on the Westminster Burying Grounds, also see: |
