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10 great places to bask in the glory of their stories November 4, 2005, Friday, FINAL EDITION Tuesday was National Author's Day, and "if you love an author, then anything you can see about that author is terrific, even if the setting is so-so," says B. J. Welborn, author of Traveling Literary America: A Complete Guide to Literary Landmarks (Jefferson Press, $19.95)."On the other hand, some literary landmarks are amazing, regardless of the writer's status." Welborn shares with USA TODAY's Shawn Sell some enlightening literary experiences. Mark Twain Study Elmira, N.Y. "Fans of Mark Twain, possibly America's greatest writer, can tour the octagonal study his father-in-law built for him (and Twain dubbed 'The Cozy Nest') here on the campus of Elmira College," Welborn says. "Twain's grave also is located in Elmira, hometown of his wife, Olivia." 607-735-1941; elmira.edu/academics/ar_marktwain.shtml Edgar Allan Poe Museum Richmond, Va. "Experience the mystery and madness of Edgar Allan Poe, master of the horror story," Welborn says. "The museum, housed in the city's oldest surviving building (The Old Stone House, circa 1754), documents the dark genius's life" with letters, manuscripts and personal memorabilia. 888-213-2763; poemuseum.org Jack London Ranch Glen Ellen, Calif. "John Griffith (Jack) London, the most popular and highest-paid American writer in the first decade of the 20th century (Call of the Wild), bought this ranch in 1905, where he lived until his death in 1916 at age 40," Welborn says. "Visitors to the 1,413-acre Jack London Park can view exhibits, artifacts and early manuscripts, the charred ruins of London's dream house (Wolf House) and his grave." 707-938-5216; www.jacklondonpark.com Alex Haley House Museum Henning, Tenn. "As a boy, Alex Haley sat on his front porch listening to stories about his ancestors," Welborn says. "He left the bungalow in 1929, but the oral histories stayed with him, and, in 1976, he finished his Pulitzer Prize-winning Roots. Haley died in 1992 and is buried in the front yard. Inside, there is a display of family artifacts, including the writer's eyeglasses." 731-738-2240; state.tn.us/environment/hist/stateown/alexhale.php Ingalls Homestead DeSmet, S.D. "Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote six of her nine Little House books about her young life in DeSmet, a prairie town that features The Surveyors' House (the family home for the winter of 1879), the Ingalls House ('The House that Pa Built') and a memorial on the family's original homesteading property," Welborn says. 800-776-3594; ingallshomestead.com The National Steinbeck Center Salinas, Calif. "The interactive, 37,000-square-foot center features seven galleries centered on themes from John Steinbeck's greatest novels," Welborn says. "Walk into an East of Eden lettuce boxcar, smell sardines on Cannery Row and tour the literary lion's boyhood bedroom and writing studio. The center offers walking tours in summer of other local Steinbeck literary locations." 831-775-4720; www.steinbeck.org Rowan Oak Oxford, Miss. "William Faulkner's longtime home contains a heady mix of personal memorabilia, including the outline of A Fable he wrote (in his compact, vertical handwriting) on the walls of his office," Welborn says. "Outside, see the stable that the Nobel-winning novelist, a horse lover, designed and built near the Greek Revival-style house, sited on 32 acres." 662-234-3284; www.olemiss.edu/depts/u_museum/rowan_oak/interactive.html Erskine Caldwell Birthplace and Museum Moreland, Ga. "Visit the humble one-story house, called The Little Manse, where novelist Erskine Caldwell (God's Little Acre, Tobacco Road) was born, located just off the central town square here," Welborn says. "Caldwell's typewriter, watch, childhood books and other personal belongings are on display." 770-251-4438; newnan.com/ec Walden Pond Concord, Mass. "In season, visitors can swim in the 103-foot-deep glacial pond or hike around it to view the flora and fauna about which Henry David Thoreau wrote during his two-year stay here (1845-47)," Welborn says. "See where he built his one-room cabin, then fish, canoe, picnic, ski or snowshoe at the state-run 333-acre park." 978-369-3254; www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/wldn.htm Booker T. Washington National Monument Franklin County, Va. "Booker T. Washington, author, statesman and founder of Tuskegee Institute in 1881, was born a slave on this Virginia tobacco farm in 1856," says Welborn. "On this plantation, once owned by the James Burroughs family, visitors can see stone slabs outlining the original site of Washington's boyhood cabin." 540-721-2094; nps.gov/bowa |
