Ernest Hemingway Cottage

The Ernest Hemingway Cottage, also known as Windemere, was the boyhood summer home of author Ernest Hemingway, on Walloon Lake in Michigan, United States. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1968.[2][3]

Ernest Hemingway Cottage
Windemere 2018
Ernest Hemingway Cottage is located in Michigan
Ernest Hemingway Cottage
Ernest Hemingway Cottage is located in the United States
Ernest Hemingway Cottage
Location6502 Lake Grove Rd., Petoskey, Michigan
Coordinates45°16′50.21″N 85°0′4.046″W / 45.2806139°N 85.00112389°W / 45.2806139; -85.00112389
Built1900
ArchitectGrace Hall Hemingway
NRHP reference No.68000026
Significant dates
Added to NRHPNovember 24, 1968[1]
Designated NHLNovember 24, 1968[2]

History edit

In about 1898, Dr. Clarence Hemingway and his wife Grace Hall Hemingway purchased four lots at this site on the shore of Walloon Lake. In 1899, they identified a location to construct a cottage, which Grace designed.[4] In 1900, the couple spent $400[5] to have this cottage constructed on the site, which they dubbed "Windemere." The family spent summers at the cottage; Ernest Hemingway, born in 1899, spent every summer here from 1900 - 1920, save 1918. In 1904, they added a kitchen, connected to the main house with a breezeway.[6] Later, a smaller "annex" was constructed to provide more bedrooms.[4]

In 1921, Hemingway and Hadley Richardson honeymooned in the cottage.[6] Hemingway returned to the cottage only once more in his life, in the early 1950s.[6]

After his mother died, Hemingway was willed the cottage. Although he did not visit, he retained ownership until his own death in 1961. At his request, Hemingway's widow transferred ownership of the cottage to his younger sister Madelaine, who used it until her own death.[4] It later passed to Hemingway's nephew, Ernie Mainland,[5] but he died in 2021 and was survived by his wife Judy and their son Ken.[7]

Description edit

The Ernest Hemingway Cottage is a single-story frame structure with a gabled roof and white clapboard siding[6] measuring 20 feet by 40 feet.[5] The main section of the cottage contains the sleeping and living rooms, along with a bathroom and utility closet. A smaller section contains the kitchen; a breezeway, originally screened but now enclosed, connects the two sides. The interior is covered with unpainted clapboard. The kitchen has been modernized.[6]

A smaller "annex" building, constructed a few years after the main cottage, stands a few yards away. A modern garage is located behind the cottage.[6]

In literature edit

Hemingway used the northern Michigan setting in a number of his works,[6] most featuring his character Nick Adams. The cottage appears in "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife," "Ten Indians," "The Indians Moved Away," "The Last Good Country," and "Wedding Day."[8]

Images edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Ernest Hemingway House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  3. ^ Mendinghall, Joseph S. (1979). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Windemere / the Ernest Hemingway Cottage" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 6 photos, exterior, from 1974 and undated (32 KB)
  4. ^ a b c Federspiel, Michael R. (2010), Picturing Hemingway's Michigan, Wayne State University Press, pp. 81–82, ISBN 9780814334478
  5. ^ a b c O'Connor, John (October 1, 2015), "When Hemingway Was a Young Fisherman in Michigan", The New York Times
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Mendinghall, Joseph S. (1968), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: The Ernest Hemingway Cottage, File Unit: National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks Program Records: Michigan, 1964 - 2013
  7. ^ Inc, Stone Funeral Home. "Obituary for Ernest Hemingway Mainland | Stone Funeral Home, Inc". Obituary for Ernest Hemingway Mainland | Stone Funeral Home, Inc. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Marek, Ken (2007), Hemingway's Michigan (PDF), Michigan Hemingway Society