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All the United States New York State New York City Walt Whitman's Birthplace
AO Edited

Walt Whitman's Birthplace

The famed poet was born in 1819 in a farmhouse built by his father.

Huntington Station, New York

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rutabagarabbit
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The front of the farmhouse where Walt Whitman was born. The house was built by his father, Walt Whitman Sr.   rutabagarabbit / Atlas Obscura User
The front of the farmhouse where Walt Whitman was born. The house was built by his father, Walt Whitman Sr.   rutabagarabbit / Atlas Obscura User
A statue on the grounds of the museum, gifted by a Japanese poet to honor Walt Whitman.   rutabagarabbit / Atlas Obscura User
Thought to be one of the oldest lilac bushes in the country, it is located just outside the window of Walt’s room. It is thought that it inspired Whitman’s poem “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.”   rutabagarabbit / Atlas Obscura User
A penny embedded in the staircase of Whitman’s home. Even as the home has changed hands, the coin has remained.   rutabagarabbit / Atlas Obscura User
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Long before he wrote famous poems including "O Captain! My Captain!" and "Song of Myself,"  Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, in a farmhouse in Huntington, Long Island.

The house was constructed by his father, who added several architectural quirks that distinguish it from others of its time—including a staircase built with every step of a different height and a penny embedded in the banister. Whitman, who was the second of nine children, lived here with his parents, older brother, and younger sister (grandma stayed over too on occasion) for the first four years of his life, before moving to Brooklyn in 1823.

It was in his birthplace, where his family kept a farm, that he developed his love of nature and admiration for the virtues of day-to-day labor. After Whitman's family moved out, the house passed through various tenants—some of whom respected its storied origins more than others.

In 1949, it was nearly sold for development before intervention from the newly founded Walt Whitman Birthplace Association, which ran a campaign across Long Island to buy the property. Nowadays, the birthplace is a museum managed by the Association and New York State.

Visitors can get a tour of the place that birthed the father of free verse.

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Literature History & Culture Houses Poetry

Know Before You Go

Admission to the museum is $8 for adults, $6 for students, and $7 for seniors/military. It isn't very busy, so you're practically guaranteed to get an in-depth, personal tour from the knowledgeable docents. Make sure to ask if you can hear what is thought to be the only recording of Walt Whitman's voice.

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rutabagarabbit

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July 7, 2023

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  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman
  • Brochures from the museum
  • https://www.waltwhitman.org/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman
  • https://www.waltwhitman.org/about-the-birthplace/
  • https://www.waltwhitman.org/about-whitman/
  • https://www.waltwhitman.org/about-wwba/
Walt Whitman's Birthplace
247 Walt Whitman Rd
Huntington Station, New York, 11746
United States
40.820729, -73.412333
Visit Website
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