This story map gives a virtual tour of the O. Henry Museum in Austin, Texas.  This tour allows visitors to explore the home and learn more about the famed short-story author while the house is closed for restorations.  Not only does this virtual tour show pictures of the rooms as they were before restoration work began, it also features embedded content such as audio clips and an interactive map of some of O. Henry's favorite spots in Austin.

The O. Henry Museum

In the late 1890s, William Porter transitioned to writing stories just as he was convicted of embezzlement while working at the First National Bank of Austin. Porter served three years of a five year sentence, being released for good behavior.  While in prison, he worked as the night druggist in the prison pharmacy, which gave him plenty of time to write.  He wrote several short stories while in prison under his new pen name, "O. Henry."  Afterward his release, he moved to New York and published more than three hundred stories with his signature twist ending.

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) around 22 years-old.

William Sydney Porter and his family rented this Queen Anne-style cottage from 1893 to 1895.  It was originally located one block southwest, at 308 East Fourth Street, in what was considered a middle-class neighborhood.  In 1929, Hermann Becker, a lumber entrepreneur and acquaintance of Porter's, acquired the property.  It changed hands over the next few years and was ultimately donated to the City and Austin.  In 1934, the city moved the structure to its current location, where it has operated as the O. Henry Museum ever since.

A family photograph of Athol, Margaret, and William Sydney Porter.

Photos of Will (left) and Athol (right) in costumes from various Gilbert and Sullivan productions.

In 1889, Athol and William Porter welcomed their only living child: a daughter, Margaret.  Margaret bonded with her father over stories, drawings, and songs.  Following Athol's death and Will's imprisonment, Margaret was raised by her maternal grandparents.  While she and her father did not maintain a very close relationship, Margaret did follow in his literary footsteps as an early Hollywood screenwriter.

In Austin, Porter had a variety of jobs; he worked as a pharmacist, a bookkeeper, and a draftsman, but perhaps his primary occupation was having a good time.  He liked to drink beer and was a regular at the Bismark Saloon and Scholz Garten, where he sang and played in the Hill City Quartette, his parlor band.  The group also performed at weddings and picnics, in addition to serenading young women on the streets.

Athol and Will Porter were both musicians and shared a love of the performing arts. They sang together in the Central Presbyterian Church choir; they were involved in the Gilbert and Sullivan Society, a local theater group; and took part in the Austin Musical Union, which regularly hosted concerts at the Driskill Hotel and Millett Opera House.

O. Henry’s works still inspire today.&nbsp;There have been references to the twist ending in “The Gift of the Magi” in popular culture throughout the decades.&nbsp;And the World Championship O. Henry Pun-Off is held every year in Austin to celebrate the author’s love of wordplay.&nbsp;So pour yourself a drink, pull up a chair, and give a listen to some of O. Henry’s greatest works.

One of the last photographs taken of O. Henry.

O. Henry's Austin

Back Room:              O. Henry's Creative Life

During his time in prison, Porter earnestly assumed the pen name O. Henry and set about transforming himself into the famed short story writer who would go on to author such universal classics as "The Gift of the Magi," "The Ransom of Red Chief," and "The Cop and the Anthem." Upon his release from prison, Porter relocated to New York City, where he enjoyed a considerable amount of success before his death due to complications of alcoholism on June 5, 1910.  

Photograph of Southeast Austin, with Congress Avenue extending down the right side of the frame and the Colorado River in the background. (Courtesy of the Austin History Center)

O. Henry maintained his innocence for the rest of his life. Click here to listen to a letter from the Houston Post's editor J. L. Watson to Porter, and William Porter's response.

On March 2, 1885, a ceremony was held to lay the cornerstone of the new Texas State Capitol.  Athol Estes was chosen by her fellow high school classmates to place mementos inside the cornerstone.  Following the celebration, Estes attended a dance where Will Porter, then 23 years-old, first laid eyes on her and knew she was the one for him.  Porter romance Estes with poems and even helped her with her English homework.

Athol and baby Margaret, circa 1890.

Around 1885, Porter met Athol Estes, the step-daughter of a grocery store owner. They eloped in 1887 and were married in the home of Reverend R. K. Smoot, the pastor of First Presbyterian Church. That same year, Porter began working as a draftsman at the Texas General Land Office, drawing maps from surveys and field notes. During the four-year period he was employed there, Athol gave birth to two children: a boy, who was stillborn, in 1888; and a daughter, Margaret, who was born in 1889.

William Sydney Porter (O. Henry) working as a teller at the First National Bank of Austin. (Courtesy of the Austin History Center)

Will and Athol Porter enjoyed 10 years of marriage before death and incarceration tore the family apart.  For the most part, they were happy years, filled with music, laughter, and storytelling.  Athol was very close to her mother and step-father, Martha and P. G. Roach.  Before they moved into this house, which was originally located across the street from the Roach's, the Porter family often stayed at the Roach home.  The bedroom set on display in the Museum was owned by the Roaches and was often used by Athol and Will on their visits.

Employees at the Texas General Land Office. Will Porter is standing second from left.

In addition to writing and playing music, William Porter was a talented illustrator. As a teenager in Greensboro, North Carolina, he earned a reputation for sketching the customers at his uncle's drugstore. Later, while employed at the Texas General Land Office, from 1887 to 1891, he drew maps of the state's counties and illustrated woodcuts for the 1889 book Indian Depredations in Texas. Porter also drew editorial cartoons for The Rolling Stone, the satirical newspaper he self-published from 1894 to 1895.

This room contains items that were used by Will Porter/O. Henry during his creative endeavors in Austin.  Though he is regarded as a New York writer, Porter got his start in Texas and wrote multiple stories based on his experiences here, including the western "The Caballero's Way," which introduced the iconic Cisco Kid character.

Between 1893 and 1895, the home in front of you was occupied by a young family: William Sydney Porter, his wife, Athol, and their young daughter, Margaret.  It was during their time in this house that life took a series of major twists that led to William Sydney Porter becoming the famous short story writer, O. Henry.

O. Henry was born William Sydney Porter on September 11, 1862, near Greensboro, North Carolina.  He moved to Texas in 1882 and first settled in Cotulla, where he worked on a ranch as a sheep herder.  In 1884, he moved to Austin and held a variety of jobs, including working as a pharmacist at the Morley Brothers Drug Company, and selling cigars in the Driskill Hotel.

The parlor would've been the seat of the Porter's social lives while they lived in this house. Both Will and Athol were talented musicians; both sang and played the piano, and Will played the guitar and mandolin. Later in life, he wrote the lyrics for a musical, Lo!: The Poor Musical Comedy.

In 1891, having left the Land Office, Porter was hired as a teller at the First National Bank of Austin. The bank managers were corrupt, leading to errors, inconsistencies in bookkeeping, and missing funds. In 1894, these errors came to light when a federal bank examiner had a look at the books. Will Porter was arrested on embezzlement charges. He was released on bail and he moved his family to Houston, where he worked for a brief time at the Houston Post. But instead of returning to Austin to stand trial, he fled to Honduras. He only returned to Austin upon learning that Athol was dying of tuberculosis.

When William Porter first came to Austin in 1884, the town was booming, with people coming and going from the recent addition of a train station.  This made the city fertile grounds for a young bachelor like Porter to make friends and come into his own.  He had just finished working as a sheep herder in Cotulla, Texas, south of San Antonio, where by night he entertained the "hands" around the campfire playing songs on the guitar.

The O. Henry house at its original location at 308 E. 4th Street.

William Porter (front left) with his three fellow members of the Hill City Quartette.

William Porter never returned to Texas and never spoke about his past.  It wasn't until a few years after his death that historians made the connection between William Sydney Porter, who had gone to prison for embezzlement, and O. Henry, the famed short story writer.

After Athol's death in 1897, Porter was convicted of embezzlement and, in 1898, he began a five-year sentence in federal prison in Columbus, Ohio.

William Sydney Porter's mugshot from Ohio State Penitentiary. (Courtesy of Columbus Citizen, Grandview Heights Public Library)

Athol Estes's graduation photo, circa 1887.

It ain't the roads we take; it's what's inside of us that makes us turn out the way we do.

The relationship wasn't without its hurdles.  Martha Roach, Athol's mother, did not approve of her daughter's relationship with Porter, who Martha believed wasn't serious enough.  So in 1887, the couple eloped at the residence of their church pastor, Dr. R. K. Smoot, whose home still stands at 1316 West Sixth Street.

The Parlor: O. Henry's Social Life in Austin

The Bedroom: Family Life in the Porter House