Lewis Miller Cottage

Historic house in New York, United States

United States historic place

Significant dates

Lewis Miller Cottage, Chautauqua Institution
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property
New York State Register of Historic Places

Lewis Miller Cottage, 1967
42°12′37″N 79°27′53″W / 42.21028°N 79.46472°W / 42.21028; -79.46472
Built	1874 (1874)
Part of	Chautauqua Institution Historic District (ID73001168)
NRHP reference No.	66000506
NYSRHP No.	01305.000025
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966^[1]
Designated NHL	December 21, 1965^[2]
Designated NHLDCP	June 29, 1989^[3]
Designated NYSRHP	June 23, 1980

The Lewis Miller Cottage is a historic house at Whitfield and Vincent Avenues, on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua, New York. Built in 1875, it was the residence of Lewis Miller, co-founder of the Chautauqua movement.^[4] It was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 21, 1965.^[2]

Description

The Lewis Miller Cottage stands in the village of Chautauqua, at the northwest corner of Vincent and Whitfield Avenues. It is a two-story wood-frame structure, with a broad gabled roof showing Stick style woodwork and large supporting brackets. It has a symmetrical front facade, with sash windows flanking the center entrance on the ground floor, and paired sash windows on the second floor, flanking a center doorway that provides access to the second-story balcony. The first-floor porch and second-floor balcony both have gingerbread balustrades.^[4]

History

The Lewis Miller Cottage is considered one of the earliest prefabricated structures in the United States.^[5] Miller brought the cottage from Akron, Ohio, and erected it at Chautauqua in 1875, where he entertained US President Ulysses S. Grant that summer.^[4]^[5]

Mina Miller Edison, Miller's daughter, spent summers at the cottage with her husband, inventor Thomas Alva Edison.^[5] She renovated the cottage in 1922.^[6] Among the changes, several of the first floor's rooms were made into one large room.^[4] Landscape architect Ellen Biddle Shipman developed extensive gardens around the cottage.^[5]

In 2016 the Chautauqua Foundation acquired the cottage from Miller descendants Ted Arnn and Nancy Kim Arnn.^[5]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Lewis Miller Cottage, Chautauqua Institution". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 15, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011.
^ "Chautauqua Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 10, 2007. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bradford, S. Sydney. "NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM". NPGallery Digital Asset Management System. National Park Service. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Group acquires landmark". The Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. January 24, 2016. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
^ "Miller Cottage Named National Historical Landmark". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. June 28, 1966. Retrieved August 9, 2024.