Walt Whitman House Stands Alone in Camden
Walt Whitman House Stands Alone in Camden
330 Mickle Street, Camden, New Jersey
Drawing of 330 Mickle Street’s Facade–the Walt Whitman House
Unlike the other Walt Whitman house that we have featured in our more recent columns, this house, 330 Mickle Street (328 Mickle Street during Walt’s life) is known and not to mention open to the public; however, upon visiting one might find it strange that this house and its few remaining neighbors were built as row houses when so much land seems unused. This was not always the case, as you may or may not know. At one time, Camden was a viable city, a place of progress and enterprise. This was certainly true in Whitman’s day. Never was it Philadelphia, but it certainly had its own eminence in various of the American industries. Yet we know one thing and that was that in Camden Walt was certainly unique and of a singular quality.
After living in his brother’s house (431 Stevens Street) for over a decade, he removed to his own residence which he purchased for less than $1500 at the time his brother and sister-in-law moved elsewhere in New Jersey. Paraplegic, he was first taken care of by tenants with whom he occupied the place with. However, this proved short-lived. After having developed a friendship with a widow, Mary Oakes Davis, she eventually moved in as his full time caretaker. She had previously boarded with a family in Bridge Street.
While his longest period of residence in Camden had been with his brother, this was certainly the first time Walt had ever owned a house and had really established a “permanent” residence. This typical wood-frame row house would have been a modest middle class dwelling of the period.
Floor Plan of the Walt Whitman House
However, what one might find more interesting architecturally is that this house speaks in a Greek Revival tone, meaning that even in its simplest decoration there is an imitation of the Grecian taste. Why? Well, of course the scale of the house is very much something typical of middle class dwellings of that period, but, more importantly, the door enframement is indicative of that style. While the doorway enframement is one of the most common forms, it is certainly distinctive on a stylistic level with a simple entablature that hosts a nice dentil cornice above the transom window and wood, four panel door. Also the house has a slight cornice emulative of the late Greek Revival period. Of course, Walt Whitman bought this house used. So while it was out of fashion in terms of architectural taste by his period, he was certainly not concerned with this factor. In fact, even though this was his final residence, it is said that his eventual tomb cost his friends almost twice as much…a factor he was hardly concerned with…
Together Walt Whitman and Bill Duckett drive along in a small, but sporty phaeton purchased for the great poet by his friends and fans. Bill Duckett and his Grandmother Lydia Watson rented rooms from a family in Mickle Street as early as 1880, several years prior to Walt procuring No. 328 (now 330), as Duckett’s father (also William) and mother had died earlier in Philadelphia where he owned a store selling roofing materials.
We also enjoy the walk through to the back yard, the front basement entrance, and, most of all, the carriage step, bearing his intials. No doubt Bill Ducket used this to hoist the old master into his fancy pheaton before a regular drive to the cemetery or wherever Walt was off to pay his respects!
Walt Whitman House After Its Renovation in the Third Quarter of the 20th Century.
We have only presented this article to share these various views with the public which we found among certain public records that aren’t necessarily available in digital format. As always, our goal is to share further information on the built environment and this time in relation to Walt Whitman.
Reference:
The information used to write this article came from both primary and secondary source research including the building records of the period, city directories, New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office’s files, the United States Census, and etc.
Wonder whatever bacame of Bill Duckett. Once he was successfully sued by Mary Davis he seemed to become just a footnote to the Whitman story.
I researched this to a moderate degree and found nothing of interest. If there was a sexual relationship between the two, I would assume that Duckett’s choice of lover was perhaps interest, but definitely partly financial. Given the time period, its probable that Whitman’s choice of lover was very limited, much guided by his financial situation at the time, especially in his older years. Even an intelligent man like Whitman might find himself hard up for the kind of sexual relationship that he might have more easily procured at a younger age. Therefore, Duckett may or may not have been intelligent and/or driven. And while one would like to think there was a romantic component to their relationship, we think it more likely that he had certain inclinations that were suitable to Whitman’s and that theirs was a mutually beneficial relationship. And, by that age, Whitman would have been happy with simply an attractive young male companion, regardless of interest or sex.