O. Henry Museum
The prolific American short-story writer O. Henry (1862-1910) made Austin his home for a brief stint. His little house, now the O. Henry Museum, is a beautiful Queen Anne cottage containing some of O. Henry's personal items. Born William Sydney Porter in Greenboro, North Carolina, he came to Austin when he was 20 years old. Here he started a humorous weekly called The Rolling Stone (not to be confused with the pop-culture magazine of today), fell in love, married, and moved into this house, which was owned by his new wife's family. Ten years later he found himself in an Ohio prison where his writing started taking off. Upon leaving the penitentiary he changed his name to O. Henry and moved to New York City. Here his life fizzled out, with a second failed marriage and alcohol problems. The master of surprise endings eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver.
409 E. 5th St.
(512) 472-1903
donations encouraged