Visiting the Catacombs and Edgar Allan Poe's Grave in Baltimore

You might know that Edgar Allan Poe is buried in Baltimore, but do you know the story behind the burial ground of his final resting place? And did you know there are catacombs in Baltimore? It's a perfect historic Halloween haunt! The Westminster Hall and Burying Ground is under the care of the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and October is a popular time of year for the venue, featuring public tours of the historic hall, cemetery and the catacombs. Learn how you can visit and tour this landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Sites. Jessica Williams, associate director, Event Services & Westminster Preservation Trust, Inc. and Heather McKlveen, administrative assistant, take us inside and underneath Westminster Hall.

Once you're done at Westminster Hall, stop over at our other October Bonus Episode on the new Lexington Market.

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Transcript

Jena: 0:00

Hey, Pulse Pals and Dana and Charles who are here with me right now, Charles is over here giggling, cause it's uh, we're in a good mood cuz guess what? It's football season.

Charles: 0:10

Da da da da.

Jena: 0:11

I know you guys are Raven's fans, I'm

Dana: 0:14

Ravens all the way

Charles: 0:16

For the premise of this conversation, I am. Dana: Oh my You better be a Ravens fan. We might have to disown you. Yeah. I'm just not a football person. Oh.

Jena: 0:24

He's a hockey guy. I

Dana: 0:25

That's right,

Charles: 0:26

Have to say I love mascots though, no matter the sport, like the Phillies Phanatic and uh, do you know who the mascot is for the Ravens? I know this much at least about the Ravens.

3 Dana Intro: 0:36

Well, of course Poe. We all know that. Yes.

Jena: 0:39

Mm-hmm.

Charles: 0:39

Well, did you know there's two other mascots actually brought out of retirement this year?

3 Dana Intro: 0:43

Oh, fill

Charles: 0:44

Edgar

Dana: 0:46

Oh, Duh

Jena: 0:47

Wow. Wonder who they're named after

Charles: 0:50

Poe? But why is that so significant? Why are we talking about the Ravens today?

Jena: 0:54

Well, we're talking about the Ravens today because the team, the Ravens, was actually named after a famous poem written by Edgar Allan Poe. I think you all know which one I'm talking about. The Raven And, and it's pretty significant because Edgar Allan Poe actually, uh, lived here in Baltimore and died here in Baltimore and is now buried right here on UMB's campus at Westminster Hall, which is what we're actually talking about today.

Dana: 1:21

Sounds like a fun conversation.

Charles: 1:24

Spooky conversation sounds

Jena: 1:25

like Yeah, totally appropriate. It is spooky season and we are talking about spooky Edgar Allan Poe and his grave site, which is here at Westminster Hall. So let's get to talking about the history and what the connection is here to UMB.

Dana: 1:56

What a great time to be talking to Jessica Williams and Heather McKlveen from Westminster Hall University of Maryland Baltimore School of Law And of course I think the biggest connection is Edgar Allan Poe. So we have a lot to talk about and a perfect time of year with Halloween coming. So welcome ladies!

Jessica: 2:13

Thank you! Westminster Hall located on Fayette and Greene Street. We're connected because we're run by Maryland Carey Law. Heather and I both work for each establishment planning events internal and external. Westminster Hall was established back in the 17 hundreds when there was a Presbyterian community established From about 10 families they needed a burying ground So the burying ground that you see on the corner is the burying ground that was there as the community grew They needed a church for worship And so that church was erected And then underneath were the tombs So that became the catacombs that you see today

Charles: 3:00

And how did it how did Westminster Hall become under the care of the Francis King Carey School of Law?

Jessica: 3:06

So the church wa s active until about 1977. Because the community had grown many people had moved to the suburbs. The church was just inactive. And Maryland King Carey

Heather: 3:16

Law

Jessica: 3:17

took it over, restored it and then opened it up as Westminster Hall no longer a church. And so now we use it for internal /external events. That's corporate events that's weddings that's nonprofit events. That's anything that will bring revenue to Westminster Hall.

Dana: 3:34

And so we've heard of course that Edgar Allan Poe is buried here and you have visitors each year or throughout the year specifically for that grave site. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Heather: 3:46

Absolutely. Edgar Allan Poe was buried here. He was actually buried in the back of the cemetery until there was a program called Pennies for Poe where a school teacher Ms Rice raised money with her students to create a new monument for Edgar Allan Poe so he could be more prominent and seen. So they moved him to the front of the cemetery at the corner of Greene and Fay ette Street and that's where the monument stands today. And he's buried with his wife who is also his cousin and his mother-in-law slash uh aunt.

Dana: 4:19

And And you were talking earlier how people will leave pennies for Poe on the actual monument and do you collect that money What happens to that?

Heather: 4:27

We do collect the money. It goes into a fund that we have and it's just to keep the restoration of the graveyard and everything going.

Charles: 4:35

How does it feel to work in such a historic place where you have the founders of Baltimore? You have James McHenry Resting here on the grounds. Talk a little bit about the pride that goes into such a historical grounds.

Jessica: 4:54

I think it's wonderful When I came here because I got a taste of history I got a taste of higher education and I was there prior to in both fields but this was together I don't think I knew when I came here the history that Westminster had. I remember I was walking around with George Byrd. He's our facilities guy and he took me on a tour when I first came up the burying grounds and he had me he said read different names on the tombs and I'm reading saying Calhoun and Bentalou and Stricker and he looked at me and he said Do they ring a bell? I said those are street names. And he said Exactly. And so then that history started coming out that there are so many prominent Revolutionary War heroes, War of 18 12, politicians that are here that people are really coming to see. And we're the ones that are Are providing that to them So it's wonderful Yeah it's a treat

Charles: 5:53

It just goes to to show like the amount of special stories that can be uncovered here in the city. So you took us on a tour of the catacombs as well and describe to people what you'll find under there or maybe who you'll find under there

Heather: 6:11

In the catacombs we have multiple tombs crypts under there. One of the most famous people under there will be General Swan. So General Swan is buried there with his wife and to the left of General Swan you'll go through a door and you get to look down what we call Williams Crypt. And Williams Crypt allows you to see into one of the crypts and you can see how far down it actually goes. You can see the remnants of a casket because there was an underground river that actually destroyed the caskets But it allows you to see how the tombs were created.

Jena: 6:48

And another thing to note about General Swan is that he's someone that people have maybe seen when they went down there and would take the tours and stuff.

Heather: 6:57

I have personally never seen him but I have heard stories that people have seen this man in his uniform walking around down there. And one of our tour guides Luann Marshall has been involved with a paranormal group and they told her that General Swan likes her but does not like that she brings a group of people with her So I always say hi to General Swan when I go down

Jena: 7:20

So any group any tour groups that come need to be very nice to General Swan and say hello

Charles: 7:25

Be very nice to your tour guide as well. We mentioned catacombs too. I think maybe for some people what comes to mind are maybe like the ones in Europe and France where you see like skulls everywhere but it's not like that at all. What actually do people see when as they walk the the grounds

Heather: 7:39

It's a dirt ground because it was originally outside since the church was built over top of it. And you will see tombstones throughout. And also we have a ice casket down there for you to see. And we have the original pews from the church because we will play about a 12 minute video during a tour for you.

Dana: 7:59

So, ice casket, what in the world is an ice casket?

Heather: 8:02

An ice casket is what they used when we didn't have embalming, so they would put ice around the outside of a metal frame that's inside the casket to keep the body preserved from the time of death until burial. It was popular from the 1820s to the 1840s, and actually most Americans could not afford them. So it was a privilege to be able to do that and have the body preserved.

Charles: 8:29

And speaking of tours this is like the perfect time of year we have Halloween just around the corner tell us about the public tours that you do and how someone can sign up.

Jessica: 8:39

We do public and private tours. So beginning in November the first Saturday of each month we will host a public tour So that means if you are just hanging around downtown and you happen to be in the area, the first tour starts at 10 the second tour starts at one you're welcome to come with the tour guide and tour through the catacombs and tour the burying ground. You will not tour Westminster Hall unfortunately. But you're gonna get that history. You're going to see the ice casket that Heather mentioned. It is $5 because that money again goes back to the restoration of the burying ground. Or you have the option of a private tour with that you'll just email us or you will call us. And we would arrange that with our tour guide. The private tours can run between nine and nine we arrange that with the tour guide based on your schedule and the time that you would like And those are wonderful also.

Jena: 9:30

And there's a lot to see there, too. If you all are interested in history of Baltimore and maybe getting into the spooky season this is a great tour to be on.

Jessica: 9:39

Absolutely

Charles: 9:40

If someone wanted to do for instance a Halloween tour since you didn't start till November how much notice do you get to give in advance if you want a private tour on one of those special days?

Jessica: 9:51

We would usually say about two weeks. and that's because we have to notify our tour guide but we do have and we host a Halloween tour. So Oh great. We have been doing this for many years is from six to nine, and during that time you can come in we usually have the pipe organ playing this year we're gonna be showcasing Hollywood graveyards. That is a YouTube channel that focuses on different graveyards through America and so this year they're gonna be focusing on us and also the Poe House and some other sites. So we're gonna be filming that. You can tour the graveyard. You can tour the catacombs. We're gonna have the Daniel Myers choir. It's a lot of surprises. A lot of surprises. So we encourage you to come on out.

Jena: 10:40

Oh I'm gonna get my tickets for that That sounds awesome

Dana: 10:42

Something we would have to sign up for most likely in advance? Or do you think you could walk up?

Jessica: 10:46

You can walk up. There is a nominal fee again $5. So it's my understanding in the past in the probably the early two thousands maybe 1998 or so that we used to have a crowd that stretched around the corner that just would wait to get in

Dana: 11:03

Yeah It sounds like a perfect thing to do on Halloween.

Charles: 11:06

We talked about different tours but there's also tours done by other organizations.

Jessica: 11:11

So we try as best as we can to include Westminster in the community tours. Just recently the end of September we had the Bromo Arts Walk and that's where the community walks around to different art venues including Westminster. It's free to the public and if you came to Westminster you got a tour of the catacombs.

Charles: 11:30

Do you know of any other organizational tours that are coming up or if their arts walk is gonna be rotating?

Jessica: 11:36

So the Arts Walk is every year. They usually do it two times a year during the summer during the fall. I would say definitely check out our website because whenever we participate in something it's gonna be on our website

Charles: 11:47

Good to know

Dana: 11:48

So what about activities that you do in tandem with internal departments or organizations. The Arts Council I know does something you do some lunch series.

Jessica: 11:57

So the Arts Council does host a tour it's not scheduled currently but I would say look out because if you look in the Elm that would be listed and you can just sign up register and you get a tour of the catacombs and of Westminster Hall in spring of 2023 .We hope to bring back our lunch under the pipe series That's an opportunity For you to bring your lunch to come sit in Westminster Hall and hear not necessarily the pipe organ but it may be a school choir it may be a jazz band it could be anything It's a surprise So we are right now planning that

Dana: 12:31

Yeah So just everybody keep an eye out in the elm for events like this that you can attend

Charles: 12:36

and if you're not familiar with the Elm because you don't go to UMB that's our internal newsletter for the university So just visit elm like the tree elm dot u maryland.edu And another spooky date on the calendar is Friday the 13th but not necessarily for a graveyard tour. Tell us about why people book a certain event on Friday the 13th.

Heather: 12:59

We actually have a lot of weddings that like to be on Friday the 13th because of our venue since they won a spooky type wedding we booked October 13th, 2023 back in 2021 site unseen.

Dana: 13:13

That's somebody is a good planner and our very own Jena has been to a wedding here

Jena: 13:18

I have. Yeah It was a lot of fun and Heather said that she actually remembers my friends who got married here. And I gotta say like the Westminster Hall venue is absolutely beautiful for a wedding. The stained glass just like sets this whole like look and feel to everything. And they have this giant pipe organ that takes up the entire back wall and fills the entire hall with this awesome music and my ch my friends who got married got married on Halloween weekend so it was right up their alley. And then cocktail hour was down in the catacombs it was a lot of fun. But it's not just a wedding for people who love spooky season and ghosts and graveyards, it's also a really beautiful venue and historic and that that pipe organ is really amazing the way that it just fills the room.

Dana: 14:05

And being on staff at UMB we've had the pleasure of having being involved with events that have been in there. We just recently had the swearing in of our police chief about a week or so ago and it it is it's a beautiful room You just get into such a I guess is it gothic revival architecture puts you in that mood of times past.

Jena: 14:24

And since we're talking about specifically that that space and the architecture the stain glass is actually the original stain glass in the building is that correct?

Heather: 14:33

That is correct except for I think a couple pains because we did have a fire at one point but they restored it to look like the original that was there

Jena: 14:41

And then so you were also struck by lightning at one point.

Heather: 14:45

We were. I'm not sure of the date of that but we were struck by lightning. And in the front of Westminster Hall we have two pictures and you can see on one side what it looked like before we were struck by lightning and what it looked like after and we lost some of the gorgeous architecture at the top of the building.

Dana: 15:02

Yeah definitely a big difference. Those spires made it much more

Charles: 15:06

Regal

Jena: 15:06

Yeah definitely more regal

Charles: 15:08

But you have done some upkeep cuz obviously it's a very old building. We've seen some of the renovation photos. When was this renovated? And then talk a little bit about some of the exterior work that was done recently.

Heather: 15:23

So it was renovated in 1977 when the law school took it over throughout the years we like to say it's the Gothic Revival along with the modern day conveniences. So it's been a lot of restoration throughout the years. One recent restoration was the Godfrey Gate. We received that grant from Maryland Historic Trust probably about three years ago. If you're driving past Greene Street and you look on the left hand side you will see the pillars have been restored. You'll see the gate has been restored. The gate that was built back in the 17 hundreds it lasted really obviously really long but it was the wear and the tear of the weather that just kept on hitting it. So again the gate was restored the pillars were restored. We also received another grant from the state and that is to restore all of our plaques throughout the cemetery. If you look at some of the plaques some of them are in great condition others not so great. So we're looking at the signage that was created back in 1970 ish And then we're gonna probably rewrite some of the signs not many but update some of them and get those restored and put back up

Charles: 16:29

You mentioned that one involves you said the Virginia Poe House?

Jessica: 16:33

Yes . That was in partnership with the Poe House. We wrote a grant. We honored Virginia Poe her bicentennial this year. We had several lectures here at Westminster. We had some virtual events but that grant for Westminster went towards the signage.

Charles: 16:50

We were wondering this earlier if the Poe toaster comes out still?

Heather: 16:56

The Poe toaster does not come out anymore. He ended his reign a little while ago. Supposedly his son took care of it for a little bit but didn't wanna continue and just disappeared. So the Maryland Historical Society actually held a contest to get a new Poe toaster. So we do have a new Poe toaster but he plays the violin now instead of doing the actual cognac and rose at the monument which actually was at his back grave not the front grave that everybody thinks

Dana: 17:27

So Heather and Jessica can't help but ask do you know who this person is

Heather: 17:31

Unfortunately

Dana: 17:32

Or is it's a well kept secret kept secret. That's good. Keeps some of the mystery in the air. How about our listeners If somebody would be interested in booking the space how would they go about that how did they get in touch with you?

Jessica: 17:45

So Westminster is available for private and corporate events. You can go to our website www.westminsterhall.org or you can give us a call directly. We work with a variety of caterers. We like to say that the venue It's great for any events from weddings to corporate events to lectures because we host them all because we're here at the university. We'll tour you around If you need a tour. We'll sit with you. We'll help you plan it. We're here for everything.

Dana: 18:13

And do you have preferred caterers are people allowed to bring in an outside caterer?

Jessica: 18:17

We do have preferred caterers. However if you have a caterer of choice we would meet that caterer, walk them around give them our expectations and then we would go from there.

Dana: 18:28

Okay Sounds good

Jena: 18:29

What is each of your favorite part about working with Westminster Hall? That this is such a cool place to work for I feel like.

Heather: 18:36

I find it really interesting when I have families doing genealogy, and coming back to see where people have been buried. I actually had one woman show me the will and what someone gifted based off of their past and everything. So that was really neat I have it saved in a book and everything.

Jena: 18:55

That's so interesting! So families still come back here to see relatives and distant relations that may have been buried here at some point. Very cool.

Jessica: 19:04

I love it when I can make somebody's day. A lot of times it's just by coincidence that I may be outside someone's touring the ground and they wanna come inside. And usually Westminster is not open to the public during regular business hours. It's only open during private events. So when somebody is here touring and I'm outside and they say Can I come inside And I'm able to bring them inside and it's the awe factor of when they walk in and they see the stained glass windows they see the pipe organ and it's the venue that's been on the corner for years but nobody has seen inside. And so when you can just see the sparkle in their eyes it's wonderful.

Dana: 19:45

That's terrific. Thanks ladies for sharing all of your history and knowledge with us thank you for our own private little tour. That was super special.

Jena: 19:53

This was a lot of fun and I hopefully a lot of people will listen and will wanna come and take a look!

Heather: 19:58

Thank you

Jessica: 19:58

Thank You

Jena: 20:04

UMB Pulse with Charles Schelle, Dana Rampolla and Jena Frick is a UMB Office of Communications and Public Affairs production. Edited by Charles Schelle, Sound Engineering by Jena Frick. Marketing by Dana Rampolla.