chris semtner: edgar allan poe is the wider put -- the writer who put american literature on the map. he is the one who is the first internationally influential american writer. he inv

there are people who have never heard of patrick henry or thomas jefferson but they know edgar allan poe. we cannot say he belonged much overltimore or richmond the world -- or new york, but to the world. >> we're inside a working public theding that has hosted longest working acting legislature today. since we are the first american state capitol to open after the revolutionary war and the first monumental roman temple style public building in the modern its influence on other state capitols, county courthouses, and public buildings that are very famous in washington, d.c. cannot be underestimated. i have heard an architectural historian described the iconic buildings in washington, d.c. as a sequel to the virginia state capitol back here in richmond. we started with our first political center in jamestown, the oldest english-speaking settlement in north america and that was used throughout the 1600s. there are multiple buildings, public and private, used for public meetings. then when we moved to williamsburg we build and capitol in the english tradition. that burned down and we rebuil

poe's monument? for years, people have questioned, did edgar allan pogue did buried under the monument, or did they put their buriedr allen poe get under the monument? it was 26 years after his death that a teacher and her students started the pennies for poe campaign to raise money to get the nicest monument, pictured right here. they thought that it would be appropriate if instead of having it in the poe family plot, if he were next to the sidewalk where everyone could see him. he was the most famous resident of the cemetery. he is the one that people should want to see. the cemetary moved him across the cemetery. his coffin was in the ground for 26 years already. as you can imagine, it fell apart. the newspapers reported saying that most of his skin had tried up and was gone, except for a bit on the arm, his mandible had fallen off, the complementing his teeth. his rib cage had fallen open. they scooped up the pieces and put them in the new spot. some people said that the sexton moved the wrong body. this is not where we remembered poe being. that caused a lot of confusion. to make matters worse, a