Work Begins in 2024Centennial Buildings Project
Help us Preserve
"One of the Loveliest Places in the World"
The Austerlitz, New York, home of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, Steepletop will mark the celebration of its centennial in 2025. In preparation for this milestone, The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society at Steepletop is embarking on a Centennial Buildings Project, and is seeking funding for this undertaking.
Each of our historic buildings needs essential structural work. The necessary improvements include: exterior painting of the Millay House, the Tamarack Cottage Visitor Center, and the Ellis Studio; various repairs to, and restoration of, the Millay House interiors and the Ellis Studio exteriors; and drainage improvement in front of the Ellis Studio to prevent flooding in the Carriage House.
The cost of this work will be approximately $175,000. Work is scheduled to begin in Spring 2024.
UPDATE: Repairs to the Ellis Studio Carriage House
in 2024, The Society raised the necessary capital to tackle the building most in need: the Ellis Studio Carriage House.
Nearly 100 years after construction, this historic structure needed significant repairs. The necessary work included demolition of the rotted wooden parts of the building damaged by water infiltration over the past decades. We had to rebuild the staircase, the balcony, much of the wall on the back of the building, and the iconic garage doors on the main floor, as well as improve the drainage around the structure. The demolition phase also revealed significant structural conditions that also had to be addressed in this restoration to ensure the building would be secure well into the future.
Thanks to grants and your donations, by June 2024, the Ellis Studio Carriage House was safe and solid again.
Planned Work
Millay House (1892)
The Millay House was constructed in 1892 to replace an earlier house destroyed by fire. The two-story white clapboard house has black shutters, a steep gable, and a central chimney. In 1926, Vincent and Eugen removed many of the home’s Victorian details, giving the house its current appearance. They also made changes to the interior of the house; they shifted the entrance of the home to create a Vermont slate foyer and a large withdrawing room, which spans the width of the house. (The house originally included a one-story cow barn on the northern end of the western façade, which was removed by Vincent and Eugen.)
Millay House Project Scope: $69,000
- Exterior carpentry repairs
- Replace lower roof
- Repair/replace shutters
- Prep, seal, and paint exterior
- Interior—Kitchen: refurbish floor; restore kitchen nook upholstery; refurbish original appliances
- Interior—Millay’s Bedroom: plaster work
Tamarack Cottage (1830)
Originally used as a guest house or staff quarters in Millay’s time, Tamarack Cottage is a two-storied white shingled farmhouse with a brick chimney, located on the southern side of East Hill Road directly to the north of the Ellis Studio. With help from a generous gift from The Jackson Family in 2014, Tamarack Cottage’s interiors were renovated to become Steepletop’s Visitor Center, including the Jackson Exhibition Gallery, gift shop, and administrative offices.
Tamarack Cottage Visitor Center Project Scope: $18,000
- Prep, seal, and paint exterior
- Refurbish screen porch
Ellis Studio Carriage House (1928)
In 2024, The Society raised the necessary capital to tackle the building most in need: the Ellis Studio Carriage House, including improving the drainage around the structure. The work began in mid-April included demolition of the rotted wooden parts of the building damaged by water infiltration over the past decades. This necessitated rebuilding the staircase, the balcony, much of the wall on the back of the building, and the iconic garage doors on the main floor. The demolition phase revealed significant structural conditions that were addressed in this restoration to ensure the building is secure well into the future.
Ellis Studio Carriage House Project Scope: $91,500
A huge thanks to the many donors who contributed to this project, with a special thanks to:
- Actions @EBMF
- Amy and Mark Tercek Foundation
- Bank of Greene County Charitable Foundation
- Fairfield County's Community Foundation / The Skaarup Trust Fund
- MetzWood Insurance
How You Can Help
Become a Buildings Project Sponsor. All sponsors will be recognized on the Donor Wall in the Visitors Center with a special commemoration. Opportunities for sponsorship include:
SPONSORSHIP OF AN ENTIRE BUILDING
Tamarack Cottage ($18,000)
Millay House ($69,000)
If you are interested in sponsoring an entire building, please email us info@millay.org.
Make general donations towards the project, at a variety of levels:
All donations in any amount towards this project will be greatly appreciated.
The Edna St. Vincent Millay Society is based at the poet’s home at Steepletop, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972 and a Literary Landmark in 2016. The mission of the Society and the Friends of Millay is to illuminate Millay’s life and writing and to preserve and interpret the character of her Steepletop home and gardens, places where nature inspires the creative spirit.
If you prefer to mail your donation to us, please send your check, made out to The Millay Society, or your credit card details with account number, expiration date and CCV number to: The Millay Society, PO Box 2, Austerlitz, NY 12017