Historic SteepletopThe House
Built in 1892...
the year Millay was born, its Victorian glories were removed by Millay to create a simple New England farmhouse. Today the house still holds all of her furniture, books and other possessions, many of which remain where they were on the day she died - October 19, 1950.
The Millay Society
is committed to restoring Millay’s historic home as part of her enduring legacy for future generations.
Steepletop is not currently open to visitors.
Recent improvements
to Millay’s historic home and grounds have been made possible through donor and volunteer support and have included: installation of new HVAC systems, extensive chimney repairs, restoration of the dining room, restoration of Millay’s historic bar and reconstruction of the pergola, restoration of the chicken coop, tennis shed and ice house and a cataloguing of Millay’s personal library (currently underway).
Millay's library is certainly the highlight of any visit to Steepletop. The library contains more than 3,000 books ranging from poetry to the classics to current novels of the period, as well as research books in English, Spanish, French, German and Latin. Many of the books are personally signed by the authors to Millay.
"...incredible addition to the cultural richness of the literary scene in the Berkshires...to survey her life through the myriads of artifacts that remain in the house, literally frozen in time, is unique.”
The Books
A massive cataloguing process has been underway over the years with about half of the collection completed. Many of those titles are now available to browse online at the Steepletop Library.
After Edna St. Vincent Millay's death in 1950, her sister Norma Millay inherited the house and kept the library intact.
