Sunday, March 30, 2014

Old Stone House



Old Stone House, ca. 1870



Old Stone House, 2014


Written Analysis:

The Old Stone House is one of the oldest buildings in the city of Richmond, and is almost certainly the first dwelling constructed within the city.  It was built in 1765 in what is now the Georgetown neighborhood, by Jacob Ege, a wealthy German immigrant, when he came over the ocean to Virginia, and his descendants dwelt within for generations after.  The Old Stone House has seen many distinguished and historically important guests, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
In 1911, the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities acquired the house, and eleven years later, it became the site for the Edgar Allan Poe Museum.  This has led to some confusion; the building is now frequently referred to as the “Poe House," which leads some to mistakenly believe that Mr. Poe lived there.  This reflects the rather odd situation that the establishment of the Poe Museum has brought about—the Old Stone House, an object of great historical significance, has been dedicated to preserving the memory of an almost entirely unrelated historical personage.  The house’s original significance has not been forgotten, however—its history is explained on the museum’s brochure.
Much has changed since 1870, when the original photograph was taken.  The street is now paved with tar instead of cobblestones, both of the buildings that stood on either side of the house have been torn down, and cars rather than people stand outside the entrance.  The Old Stone House displays many subtle differences from its surroundings, particularly in its material.  True to its name, it is constructed of stones, said to be ballast cast of by ships on the James, while the surrounding buildings—including those which comprise the rest of the Poe Museum—are all constructed of more modern brick.
However, the truest difference between the context of the two photos is not in there appearance, but rather in the way their intended audiences would view them.  For surely, at the time during which it was actually occupied, the Old Stone House would have been considered a grand building, as hinted by the crowd of gentlepeople standing in front of it.  Today, it would barely be large enough for a family of three.  That, more than anything, demonstrates the volume of the change that has taken place since the original photo was taken.

Bibliography:

"Old Stone House," National Park Service. Accessed March 23, 2014.
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/OldStoneHouse.htm.

Ege, Thompson. History and Genealogy of the Ege Family in the United States, 1738-1911.
Harrisburg, PA: Star Printing Company, 1911.





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