Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810)
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A Quaker, he is considered America’s first important novelist. His Gothic fiction depicts Philadelphia life and inspired Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. As an author, editor, and historian, he ad-dressed women’s rights, slavery, and political issues. Born nearby.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Born nearby in 1771 into a Philadelphia Quaker family, Charles Brockden Brown is often called America's first important novelist. His brooding Gothic tales, set amid the streets and fevers of his own city, helped invent an American literature and later inspired writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. As a novelist, editor, and historian he also wrestled openly with the questions of his young republic—women's rights, slavery, and the shape of the nation's politics.
Why it matters
Brown proved that a distinctly American voice could stand on its own in fiction, launching a national literary tradition while confronting the moral debates that would define the country.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Paradigm Gallery + Studionearby · 12 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- United States Postal Service Museumnearby · 316 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Franklin Print Shopnearby · 320 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fragments of Franklin Courtnearby
- Benjamin Franklin Museumnearby
- Science History Institutenearby · 315 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
Attractions
- First Bank of the United States0.1 mi away · 120 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Carpenters' Hall0.2 mi away · 320 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Second Bank of the United States0.2 mi away · 420 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- City Tavern0.2 mi away · 138 South 2nd Street
- Benjamin Franklin Grave0.2 mi away
- U.S. Mint at Philadelphia Tour0.2 mi away
Food & drink
- PrimoHoagiesnearby · 304 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Forknearby · 306 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Menagerie Coffeenearby · 18 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- National Mechanicsnearby · 22 South 3rd Street, Philadelphia
- 3J's Cafenearby · 317 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Bubble Tea Roomnearby · 319 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- Apple Hostelsnearby · 33 Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Best Western Plus Independence Park Hotelnearby · 237 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Apple Hostels Philadelphianearby · 32 South Bank Street, Philadelphia, PA
- The Philadelphia House0.1 mi away · 17 North 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel0.1 mi away · 401 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District0.2 mi away · 400 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
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Related people
- · Charles Brockden Brown
- · Edgar Allan Poe
- · Nathaniel Hawthorne
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Anthony Benezet (1713-1784)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2016
In the crowded streets of colonial Philadelphia, a mild-mannered Quaker schoolteacher named Anthony Benezet quietly became one of the most influential abolitionists of his age. From this home he taught free and enslaved Black children in the 1750s and 60s, and in 1754 opened one of the era's earliest schools for girls—radical acts in a city where slavery was still ordinary. His tracts against the slave trade crossed the Atlantic, shaping antislavery thinkers in Britain and America alike.
Joseph and Amy Cassey (1789-1848)/(1809-56)
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2009
In the decades before the Civil War, Philadelphia was home to a thriving community of free Black Americans who built their own institutions of self-help and reform. Joseph Cassey, a prosperous barber and real-estate dealer, extended rentals and loans to Black and white customers alike, while he and his wife Amy founded benevolent and intellectual societies. Amy Cassey was also active in the Female Anti-Slavery Society, part of a network of women driving the abolitionist cause.
The Escape of Ona Judge
Philadelphia, PA · est. 2024
Ona Judge was brought to Philadelphia as an enslaved servant of Martha Washington while the city served as the young nation's capital. In May 1796 she slipped away from the President's House and made her way to New Hampshire, aided by Philadelphia's free Black community. Even the president's efforts to reclaim her failed, as federal officials declined to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act on his behalf, and Judge lived out her life in freedom.
Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society
Philadelphia, PA · est. 1992
In 1833, Quaker reformer Lucretia Mott helped organize this society of some sixty women dedicated to ending slavery, headquartered on this spot. Barred from full participation in male-led abolition groups, these women built their own influential organization, raising funds and rallying support for emancipation. After the Civil War, they turned their energies to aiding the newly freed, extending their reform work into a new era.