Whitman Stafford Farmhouse

I grew up in Laurel Springs where the Whitman House is and also where he wrote poems at Crystal Springs. Beautiful area to live and now I only live a couple blocks away and still visit there

Beautiful restoration and a must visit for Whitman fans. You can pair this with the Timber Creek/Crystal Springs Park where he rehabilitated and convened with Nature in writing Specimen Days (which doesn't get any attention because it's completely overshadowed by LoG) but contains all of his prose writing including his Nature journals (ala Walden). The park has a nice boardwalk now that makes navigating the woods very easy and accessible to all. The house was in such a state of disrepair 45 years ago that it was going to be destroyed. The gentleman who was responsible for saving the house -- Rich Zimmermann -- is a tremendous tour guide and his generosity and passion for the house is infectious. We are so lucky to have it. Most people will never visit because it's not in downtown Camden or Philly but it's not hard to get to. No true Whitman fan can live without a visit to these sacred places.

Love it here! Gabriel's tavern in Glendora nj is another overlooked historic house check that out too you won't be disappointed

This house is a beautiful addition to the Walt Whitman collection of memorabilia, history, and soul-filled spaces of the great poet. A highly talented and deeply devoted collection of local citizens banded together to save this valuable resource of literary history. The Walt Fest they have each year is a tribute to their hard work, and the extraordinary life of Walt Whitman our Native Son. We are so fortunate to have people of strong values who want to see this piece of history preserved for years to come. The artifacts here are exceptional, they are displayed with loving care and in their historic fashion.

I Find It Fitting

from my Mincing Words with Whitman - the second half of IN THE SAME PLACE

I find it fitting,
Walt, that a hawk
sits sentinel above
the dust you
have become - this
dirt we all bequeath
to them above.

It screams enough
to let you know
that I have come
to sit, to loaf, to lean
into the day, the day itself.

On this spectacular
of summer days,
the granite blocks strewn
about your grave are
the only seats a man
can find to sit his soul
down to mull, and muse
and ponder the sufferings
of this life.

No church is unlocked,
nor temple is unbarred.
No amphitheater left open
save the truest Colosseum -
where everything sits out
under this marvelous sky.

How is it that we have
weedled contemplative
loafing out of our human
agenda and desire?
It is a sadder day
for sure. How have we
seen it fit to order
every moment of our days with
an endless list of tasks? It
is untamable at best.

It is grand
that we have not -
as of yet - learned
how to keep
the messy acorns from
falling. It is glorious
that the weeds have
learned to mock us
with their tenacious
gift of towardness
and lifing.

Some things will out
even if we prey
on them and seek the
desolation of their being.

But here, sitting
where no man or woman
has a vote, where no
quorum is possible at all;
here, where no take-over
or no buy-out approaches
the lips of those planted
here in this soil - them
that abide here. Here,
my hope is once again
given wing that the
madness of our human
ego will one day rest.
One day a calm
will prevail. Oh,
that men would taste
it before the ground.
Oh, that women would
touch it before
the grave.

It is here,
in this present
instant and ancient
hunger to learn
and loaf and love the
allness of all there is.

I grew up in laurel springs. The Whitman Stafford House is always a nice trip and it's well maintained. I love the events thrown there.

Quaint house with period furniture. The curators have done a wonderful job depicting the life and times of Walt Whitman in South Jersey.

Quiet,laid back area tucked away in historic Laurel Springs. Now I want to take the tour!

Beautifully Maintained! Lovely place well kept by lovely people!

We were there for geocaching found it. The house was closed.

I love it here around the holidays

A little history in my new nieghborhood

What a hidden gem this house is.

When is this place open?

Inspirational