Walt Whitman’s Civil War poetry is among the literary heritage of the conflict. His work as a nurse in New York and in army hospitals near Washington made him a participant in the war as well. His Reconstruction literature began with poems like Oh Captain, My Captain marking the trauma of Lincoln’s assassination. Whitman began life in 1819 in West Hills, Long Island just south of Huntington, in a home his parents moved into in 1816. His father, believed to have been a carpenter, built the house.
I live near the Whitman Birthplace on Old Walt Whitman Road across Route 110 from the Walt Whitman Mall. While Walt was never forgotten on Long Island, with schools, parks and libraries bearing his name, when I visited the birthplace before 1997, it was underwhelming. The small house stood on a suburban street next to a strip mall with two, count ’em porn shops! There was no visitor center and only two room had been restored. Half of the house was closed to the public and used for offices, and the largest room was not restored at all. Instead it was used as an undersized meeting room for talks and poetry readings.
Over the last quarter century, a lot has changed and Whitman’s life is much better interpreted now at the site. Under the direction the New York State Parks Department, the home has been restored to the way it is believed to have looked when Whitman lived there, and a visitors center has been constructed. Unfortunately, the site is still limited by its small size. What had been a moderate-sized farm, is now just a small portion of the land the Whitmans lived on.
Entry to the site is through the relatively new visitors center. A free parking lot is big enough to accomodate a typical day’s visitors, but when there are events at the site, it often fills up. Luckily, there is street parking nearby.
Whitman’s words are on display even before you enter the building.
21st Century Social Media is not forgotten.
A map on the wall helpfully reminds visitors that there are numerous sites on Long Island where Whitman lived and worked, including nine within eight blocks of the home in West Hills. While most are not open to the public, these century-and-a-half old sites can be viewed from the street.
Admission to the home is $8.00 for Adults, $7.00 for Seniors, and $6.00 for students. You can find out more about admission and the site here. The site is easily reached by car at 246 Old Walt Whitman Road, Huntington Station, NY 11746. It is about a fortyfive minute walk from the Huntington Long Island Railroad Station. Most people visiting by train will take an Uber or cab to the site.
There are a number of artworks and sculptures in the visitors center depicting Whitman, including the one below presented by library associations and Lambda.
There are also numerous quotes from Whitman’s poetry and prose highlighting hisĀ work and presenting his view of humanity and his era.
Through the visitor center’s panoramic windows you can see the Whitman homes.
There are also many photos of Whitman. He is often called “The most photographed American poet of the 19th Century.” With photography only getting its start after Whitman had reached maturity, he was quick to take advantage of the new technology.
One photo depicting him as a working man made it into his book of poems, Leaves of Grass.
Today, the image of Whitman is often drawn from his later photographs.
Exhibits at the center are arranged chronologically.
While Whitman’s words are highlighted, there are a handful of objects on display. One is a printing press similar to a larger press Whitman used to publish The Long Islander in Huntington. The newspaper is still published today.
There is also a statue depicting Whitman singing. It was created by the father of the famous modern sculptor of the same name.
Exhibits focus on Whitman and how he was perceived in the U.S. and around the world.
Whitman started out on Long Island. His father was a carpenter who decided to try his hand at farming in West Hills. Unfortunately a volcanic eruption led to the “Year Without a Summer,” curtailing the Whitmans’ farm productivity.
The Whitmans moved back and forth between Long Island and Brooklyn. Late in his teens, Walt became a schoolteacher in different districts. The center has a 19th Century teacher’s desk from nearby Woodbury where Whitman taught. We have no idea if he ever used the desk.
Episodes from his writing career are marked.
As well as Whitman’s encounters with American life, both urban and rural.
Six years before the Civil War, Whitman published Leaves of Grass. The book was repeatedly republished throguhout his life, often with new poems added.
Whitman depicted himself as democratic workingman of the mid-19th Century. He rarely mentioned his work as a newspaperman or school teacher.
He was a strong advocate for the expansion of democracy as the most shining American invention. The democracy he envisioned was romanticized and did not reflect the corruption of democracy so common in the United States.
The visitor center has a First Edition of Whitman’s Leaves of Grass on display.
It also has later editions as well.
The center does not dwell only on Whitman the Long Islander. It also discusses his role as a Brooklynite and New Yorker. Whitman edited the Brooklyn Eagle at the time one of the largest newspapers in the country.
I like this photo, it was taken just a short distance from where I live in the Quaker village Westbury, the first village on Long island to abolish slavery in 1776.
Elias Hicks, from Hicksville, was a leading Quaker opponent of slavery. He influenced the Whitman family.
The Civil War years are a major focus of the center. The war led to questions about the future of democracy, slavery, and race. Whitman began to nurse wounded and sick soldiers at the Soldiers’ Depot in Manhattan. When his brother was wounded, Whitman went to Washington to nurse him and stayed to nurse others.
Before the war, Whitman was not an Abolitionist. War changed his mind on that subject.
After the war, Whitman saw the country divided, its immigrants and poor oppressed by emerging industrialization, and its women and Blacks excluded.
After a half-hour in the visitor center we were taken on an escorted tour of the Birthplace, hand-built by the Whitman’s
The buildings depict the moderate-sized farm in an area enclosed by suburban sprawl.
As we approached the house, we saw the well believed to have been dug by Whitman’s father. It still has water in it, but it is not considered safe to drink.
The house itself is in three sections, constructed over time.
We went inside the house, but were told that for preservation purposes we could not take photos in theĀ building. Unlike my visits a quarter century earlier, all of the rooms have been restored. We were taken to the parlor, the birthing room where Walt was born, the large open hearth kitchen and living room, bedrooms upstairs and the quarters for the teenaged farm laborers who stayed in the house during the agricultural season.
After the 30 minute tour of the house, we walked over to the recently erected statue of Whitman at the east end of the property.
The docent urged us to “Take a selfie with Walt,” which I happily did.
We returned to the visitor center to take in the exhibits we had not yet seen.
As one of America’s best-known LGBT writers, Whitman was a pioneer in writing about same-sex relations.
In all, we enjoyed the chance to see where Whitman was born and where he lived as a small child. If you go, you may want to drive to some of the sites connected to Whitman on the map I showed you earlier. In nice weather, head to Jaynes Hill and walk to the top. Whitman visited here for the view.
Here is the address for the Birthplace: 246 Old Walt Whitman Rd, Huntington Station, NY 11746
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