Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage
National Historic Landmark

Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage

Walloon Lake, Emmet County, Michigan
Listed
November 23, 1968
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
68000026

About this property

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. 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. In 1900, the couple spent $400 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. Later, a smaller "annex" was constructed to provide more bedrooms. In 1921, Hemingway and Hadley Richardson honeymooned in the cottage. Hemingway returned to the cottage only once more in his life, in the early 1950s. 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. It later passed to Hemingway's nephew, Ernie Mainland, but he died in 2021 and was survived by his wife Judy and their son Ken. The Ernest Hemingway Cottage is a single-story frame structure with a gabled roof and white clapboard siding measuring 20 feet by 40 feet. 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. 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. Hemingway used the northern Michigan setting in a number of his works, 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." National Register of Historic Places listings in Emmet County, Michigan

Location

Walloon Lake, Emmet County, Michigan
45.28014, -84.99935

Categories

LITERATURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Boyne City Central Historic District
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Questions about this property

When was Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage listed on the National Register?

Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 23, 1968.

What type of historic resource is Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage?

Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage?

The period of significance for Hemingway, Ernest, Cottage is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1900.

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