Thiel College ENG 235 Sp24 Dashboard
Description
Welcome to Thiel College's ENG 235 Survey of American Literature class group, where you can access students' timeline, map, and gallery projects.
Galleries, Timelines, and Maps
Individual Entries
Located in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, this home is considered to be Poe’s inspiration for his short story The Fall of the House of Usher. The home was originally the property of the Usher family, who were well-known for being among the first to sell and print books in the thirteen colonies ("Hezekiah Usher"). One of the earliest homes built in the colonies, the Usher house was constructed in 1684 over a "half-cleared pasture" and grew into a large manor-like estate from a small house (Watkins & Rossiter 91). Close to Boston Common, the infamous Ushers took an interest in several of the affairs across the developing town. Hezekiah Usher I helped found the First Church in Boston, held several positions in the town government, and remained Boston's selectman until his death in 1659 ("Hezekiah Usher"). Following his death, his son Hezekiah Usher II had the house built in his honor. When the house was torn down in 1830, there were supposedly two embracing...
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“I have learned that even the smallest house can be a home.” – Henry David Thoreau, Walden
The “Yellow House,” or the “Thoreau-Alcott House” is a historical house built sometime in 1849 for a man named Josiah Davis, who maintained flourishing wealth before going bankrupt “after the Financial Panic of 1837” (Discover Concord MA). Henry David Thoreau was born not in this home, but in a farmhouse nearby within Concord, MA. Before living in the iconic wooden cabin at Walden Pond, Thoreau ended up living in many homes throughout his life. During his childhood, Thoreau and his family ended up moving from Concord to nearby Chelmsford, to Boston, before moving back to Concord in 1826. Upon...
moreIn 1824, during Poe’s junior color guard days, he helped escort the Revolutionary War General Marquis de Lafayette around Richmond, Virginia. Lafayette and the color guard stopped at Richmond’s Old Stone House to visit the Ege family, who had assisted in the American Revolution. While there, Poe stood guard on the front steps of the house. 98 years later, the Old Stone House became the Poe Museum.