The unmarked grave of Edgar Allan Poe was a particularly sad and nearly forgotten plot in the Westminster Cemetery of Baltimore for a quarter of a century. The author had been en route to New York from Richmond when he became ill and died, and he was buried on the next day with his cousin Neilson Poe and a only a few others at the graveside.

Ten years later, Poe's aunt Maria Clemm prevailed upon Neilson Poe to purchase a gravestone, but it was broken accidentally before transport to the cemetery and another was not made to replace it.

At last in 1865, a teacher by the name of Sara Sigourney Rice began a campaign to raise money for the building of a worthy monument. Ten years later, the collected pennies of school children and the offerings of many admirers purchased the memorial stone seen today.

Poe's remains were reinterred, now located at the corner of the cemetery beside an entry gate. The memorial gathering included Walt Whitman and letters of appreciation sent by Tennyson and Longfellow were read during ceremonies.