About Us

When Edna Millay died in 1950, she left her entire estate, including her home at Steepletop and her intellectual property, to her sister Norma Millay, who, with her husband, the painter Charles Ellis, lived there for the rest of their lives.

In 1978, Norma Millay sponsored the creation of the Edna St. Vincent Millay Society to carry on her sister's legacy. At her death in 1986, Norma left Millay's house and all its contents, more than 400 acres of woodland and fields, as well as  the rights to the poet's literary works to the Millay Society. The Society has continued Norma's vision by administering and protecting Millay's literary estate and planning for a major restoration of the house and grounds at Steepletop.

The Society's highest priority is to open Steepletop to the public on a regular basis. Our plans include restoring the house, gardens, and grounds as well as building a Visitor Center, Research Library, and Conference Center for the study of early 20th-century American literature and culture. Our goal is to share the home that inspired one of America's greatest literary icons and to provide a destination of historic interest to visitors from the United States and abroad.

In 1973, Norma Millay founded the Millay Colony for the Arts, situated across the road from Millay’s farmhouse. While the Colony is its own organization (separate from the Society), it supports the creative spirit of Millay by offering one-month residencies for writers, visual artists, and composers.