Steepletop
Encyclopedia
Steepletop, or Edna St. Vincent Millay House was the farmhouse home of Pulitzer Prize
-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay
and her husband Eugene Jan Boissevain, in Austerlitz
, New York, United States. Her former home and gardens are maintained by the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. It was declared a National Historic Landmark
on November 11, 1971. The Millay Colony for the Arts
, founded in 1973 by Norma Millay Ellis, sister of the poet, is also located at Steepletop.
The name Steepletop comes from a pink, conical wildflower
that grows there. The Society opened the house for tours in 2010.
(although it is geologically within the Taconics
). The property is abutted on some areas by Beebe Hill and Harvey Mountain State Forest. state forests. It can be reached by taking partially paved East Hill Road to the main complex from the NY 22
state highway
in the narrow valley to its west.
East Hill leads through the Steepletop property, on a rolling section of cleared land in the middle of the woods. Its most visible building is the guest house on the east side of the road, currently used as the Millay Colony's offices. It is a two-story building, sided in shingles with a gable
d roof and two exterior brick chimneys. To its southeast is a stable now used as a garage, with a second floor studio. A barn with curved roof is located on the northeast.
Just north of it, across the road, is the main house, Millay's primary home during her years of residence. It is a two-story white clapboard
-sided
house with a steep gabled roof and central chimney, built into ground that rises up from the short unpaved driveway on the west. A one-and-a-half-story wing projects from the north.
The four-bay
west (front) facade
has a single-bay, single-story gabled porch sheltering the main entrance, a doorway with sidelights and transom
. The north wing has three shed-roofed dormer windows, an interior chimney and a single-bay, single-story projection on its west just north of the main entrance. Its north end has a double door and single window in the gable field. On the wing's east side is a screened porch with a single shed dormer above.
Behind the main door is a small full-length hallway with stone floor. It is decorated with photographs of Millay and art objects collected by her and Boissevain, including a bust of Sappho
and a desk made for Millay. An adjacent parlor has a wide brick mantelpiece and paintings of and by Norma Ellis and her husband Charles, who lived in the house after her sister's death. At the east end of the hall is the dining room.
To its north is the kitchen, as remodeled by Ladies' Home Journal
in 1948 for a feature story. Its pantry
is to the west, with a small room containing a wood stove on the north. Beyond that is a large storage room with concrete floor, bathroom and closet. It contains file cabinets with recordings of readings of Millay's work.
A stairway leads up to the second floor, with the library on the south. All its walls have shelves of Millay's books. At the northeast corner is her bedroom, which still has furniture she bought and dresses she wore to poetry readings. A newer bedroom, used by her sister and her husband, is to the west.
Northwest of the house is a small one-story wooden cabin, used by Millay as a writing studio. It has a door at the west end, one window on the north face and two on the south. Within are a stove, chaise longue, bureau, desk and chair, and a table with magazines from 1949, all as Millay left it.
Farther away from the house are two more buildings and Millay's grave. A gabled icehouse is to the north; the Ellises converted it into a workroom and storage space. West of the driveway is a swimming pool complex, with a roofed terrace Millay referred to as "the bar" and lawn she called "the dingle". Her gravesite is off a dirt road that branches off to the west from East Hill a thousand feet (305 m) north of the main house.
The couple built the barn shortly after moving in, from a kit they bought from Sears. Millay grew her own vegetables in a small garden near the icehouse, and had the writing cabin built. The couple also had a tennis court built.
After World War II
, in the late 1940s, she left Steepletop less frequently. Boissevain died in 1949, making her even more reclusive in the year before she was found dead at the foot of the stair in the main house. The fall was the proximate cause of death
, but what led to it is unknown.
Her sister Norma and her husband, painter Charles Ellis, moved in afterwards. In 1973, they established Millay Colony for the Arts
on the seven acres (2.8 ha) around the guest house and barn, which they continued to run through her death in 1986. During that time, in 1980, they renovated the barn into housing for visiting artists. In 1997 a disabled-accessible
main building was built on colony property. The colony continues to offer one-month residencies to writers, visual artists and composers from the U.S. and other countries.
The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society remains in charge of the main house, the outbuildings around it and the grounds as a whole. It operates the property as a historic house museum dedicated to Millay and has spent much effort on restoring
the house and grounds. In 2003 the Friends of the Millay Society built the Millay Poetry trail along the dirt road leading to her grave, with excerpts from her nature poetry posted along the route, and opened it to the public.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay
Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyrical poet, playwright and feminist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and was known for her activism and her many love affairs. She used the pseudonym Nancy Boyd for her prose work...
and her husband Eugene Jan Boissevain, in Austerlitz
Austerlitz, New York
Austerlitz is a town in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,453 at the 2000 census. The town was named after the Battle of Austerlitz.The Town of Austerlitz is in the east part of Columbia County.- History :Ellis, Capt...
, New York, United States. Her former home and gardens are maintained by the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society. It was declared a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
on November 11, 1971. The Millay Colony for the Arts
Millay Colony for the Arts
The Millay Colony for the Arts is an artist residency program in Austerlitz, New York. The colony offers one month residencies to visual artists, writers, poets and composers. The Millay Colony for the Arts was founded in 1973 by Norma Millay Ellis, sister of the poet Edna St...
, founded in 1973 by Norma Millay Ellis, sister of the poet, is also located at Steepletop.
The name Steepletop comes from a pink, conical wildflower
Wildflower
A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. Yet "wildflower" meadows of a few mixed species are sold in seed packets. The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more...
that grows there. The Society opened the house for tours in 2010.
Property
Steepletop is a 500 acres (202.3 ha) estate on a hilly, wooded area in the northeastern corner of the town near the Massachusetts state line, in the foothills of the BerkshiresThe Berkshires
The Berkshires , is a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and Connecticut.Also referred to as the Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation.-Definition:The term...
(although it is geologically within the Taconics
Taconic Mountains
The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western...
). The property is abutted on some areas by Beebe Hill and Harvey Mountain State Forest. state forests. It can be reached by taking partially paved East Hill Road to the main complex from the NY 22
New York State Route 22
New York State Route 22 is a north–south state highway in eastern New York in the United States. It runs parallel to the state's eastern edge from the outskirts of New York City to a short distance south of the Canadian border. At , it is the state's longest north–south route and...
state highway
State highway
State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...
in the narrow valley to its west.
East Hill leads through the Steepletop property, on a rolling section of cleared land in the middle of the woods. Its most visible building is the guest house on the east side of the road, currently used as the Millay Colony's offices. It is a two-story building, sided in shingles with a gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d roof and two exterior brick chimneys. To its southeast is a stable now used as a garage, with a second floor studio. A barn with curved roof is located on the northeast.
Just north of it, across the road, is the main house, Millay's primary home during her years of residence. It is a two-story white clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
-sided
Siding
Siding is the outer covering or cladding of a house meant to shed water and protect from the effects of weather. On a building that uses siding, it may act as a key element in the aesthetic beauty of the structure and directly influence its property value....
house with a steep gabled roof and central chimney, built into ground that rises up from the short unpaved driveway on the west. A one-and-a-half-story wing projects from the north.
The four-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
west (front) facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
has a single-bay, single-story gabled porch sheltering the main entrance, a doorway with sidelights and transom
Transom (architectural)
In architecture, a transom is the term given to a transverse beam or bar in a frame, or to the crosspiece separating a door or the like from a window or fanlight above it. Transom is also the customary U.S. word used for a transom light, the window over this crosspiece...
. The north wing has three shed-roofed dormer windows, an interior chimney and a single-bay, single-story projection on its west just north of the main entrance. Its north end has a double door and single window in the gable field. On the wing's east side is a screened porch with a single shed dormer above.
Behind the main door is a small full-length hallway with stone floor. It is decorated with photographs of Millay and art objects collected by her and Boissevain, including a bust of Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
and a desk made for Millay. An adjacent parlor has a wide brick mantelpiece and paintings of and by Norma Ellis and her husband Charles, who lived in the house after her sister's death. At the east end of the hall is the dining room.
To its north is the kitchen, as remodeled by Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
in 1948 for a feature story. Its pantry
Pantry
A pantry is a room where food, provisions or dishes are stored and served in an ancillary capacity to the kitchen. The derivation of the word is from the same source as the Old French term paneterie; that is from pain, the French form of the Latin panis for bread.In a late medieval hall, there were...
is to the west, with a small room containing a wood stove on the north. Beyond that is a large storage room with concrete floor, bathroom and closet. It contains file cabinets with recordings of readings of Millay's work.
A stairway leads up to the second floor, with the library on the south. All its walls have shelves of Millay's books. At the northeast corner is her bedroom, which still has furniture she bought and dresses she wore to poetry readings. A newer bedroom, used by her sister and her husband, is to the west.
Northwest of the house is a small one-story wooden cabin, used by Millay as a writing studio. It has a door at the west end, one window on the north face and two on the south. Within are a stove, chaise longue, bureau, desk and chair, and a table with magazines from 1949, all as Millay left it.
Farther away from the house are two more buildings and Millay's grave. A gabled icehouse is to the north; the Ellises converted it into a workroom and storage space. West of the driveway is a swimming pool complex, with a roofed terrace Millay referred to as "the bar" and lawn she called "the dingle". Her gravesite is off a dirt road that branches off to the west from East Hill a thousand feet (305 m) north of the main house.
History
The guest house is believed to have been built in the late 18th century, considerably predating the main house, which is believed to have been built around 1870. Millay and Boissevain bought the property, which had been a 635 acres (257 ha) blueberry farm and moved in in 1925, after the period in which critics and scholars generally believe she had done her best work. She continued to write since the rural setting provided sufficient distance from the outside world, and the couple lived there except for periods of travel.The couple built the barn shortly after moving in, from a kit they bought from Sears. Millay grew her own vegetables in a small garden near the icehouse, and had the writing cabin built. The couple also had a tennis court built.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in the late 1940s, she left Steepletop less frequently. Boissevain died in 1949, making her even more reclusive in the year before she was found dead at the foot of the stair in the main house. The fall was the proximate cause of death
Cause of Death
Cause of Death is a 1990 album by American death metal band Obituary. Cause of Death is considered a classic album in the history of death metal. The artwork was done by artist Michael Whelan...
, but what led to it is unknown.
Her sister Norma and her husband, painter Charles Ellis, moved in afterwards. In 1973, they established Millay Colony for the Arts
Millay Colony for the Arts
The Millay Colony for the Arts is an artist residency program in Austerlitz, New York. The colony offers one month residencies to visual artists, writers, poets and composers. The Millay Colony for the Arts was founded in 1973 by Norma Millay Ellis, sister of the poet Edna St...
on the seven acres (2.8 ha) around the guest house and barn, which they continued to run through her death in 1986. During that time, in 1980, they renovated the barn into housing for visiting artists. In 1997 a disabled-accessible
Accessibility
Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility can be viewed as the "ability to access" and benefit from some system or entity...
main building was built on colony property. The colony continues to offer one-month residencies to writers, visual artists and composers from the U.S. and other countries.
The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society remains in charge of the main house, the outbuildings around it and the grounds as a whole. It operates the property as a historic house museum dedicated to Millay and has spent much effort on restoring
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
the house and grounds. In 2003 the Friends of the Millay Society built the Millay Poetry trail along the dirt road leading to her grave, with excerpts from her nature poetry posted along the route, and opened it to the public.
See also
- List of National Historic Landmarks in New York
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbia County, New York