Hugh Sisson

Hugh Sisson III aka Marble King of Baltimore Sisson imported marble from Italy, the first in the city to do so, His firm also supplied the marble for the George Peabody Library, the granite for the bases of many prominent statues, and interiors of many institutions such as banks, insurance headquarters, post offices, and custom-houses.

Hugh Sisson was the stone mason responsible for the monument to Edgar Allan Poe's burial site in Baltimore. He actually created two versions. The first, a more modest headstone, was completed shortly after Poe's death. In a bizarre accident, the monument was awaiting shipment at Sisson's stone yard when a derailed train ran off the adjacent tracks and demolished it. Lacking the money for a replacement, the project was delayed for nearly 25 years. Finally, after a new fundraising effort succeeded, Sisson was commissioned to build the grander monument that stands at Poe's reburial site today, which was completed in 1875.

Poe's grave is probably Sisson's most visited today, but the Sisson name can be found inscribed on monuments throughout the Green Mount Cemetery, the premier cemetery of Baltimore in the 19th century. He also produced and signed the marker to the first burial in Green Mount.

Sisson Street, in the Remington neighborhood of Baltimore City, is named for him.