Ohio Center for the Book’s Page Count podcast hit the road recently to visit the Paul Laurence Dunbar House in Dayton, Ohio. (Listen now: Touring the Paul Laurence Dunbar House.) Here, listeners can view images of the house for a glimpse into Dunbar’s life and surroundings. From wallpaper patterns to archaic phones, typewriters, and washing machine, along with Dunbar’s books, furniture, and more, this historic site is a must-see for those interested in Ohio’s literary heritage and the life of the first African American author to gain widespread recognition for his writing.
About Paul Laurence Dunbar
Born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio, to formerly enslaved parents, Paul Laurence Dunbar would go on to become one of the first nationally recognized African American poets—and the first to support himself financially through his writing. Over the course of Dunbar’s relatively short career, he authored twelve books of poetry, four novels, four short story collections, and two Broadway plays, as well as song lyrics. He died in 1906 at the age of thirty-three from tuberculosis, though his legacy endures today. Dunbar’s work has inspired many great American authors, including Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and others.
About the Paul Laurence Dunbar House
In 1905, Dunbar’s mother, Matilda J. Dunbar, purchased a two-story brick house located at 219 N. Summit Street (since renamed Paul Laurence Dunbar Street) in Dayton, Ohio. The house became Dunbar’s final residence, and following his death in 1906, Matilda meticulously maintained the house and her son’s belongings. Today, the house is owned and managed by the state of Ohio, is part of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, and is open to the public for free tours.