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444 E. Main Street |
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A Brief History |
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Bishop J. S. Mills: From Ohio to Annville (1900-1905) Around the year 1900, Lebanon Valley College was going through a very difficult time: enrollment at the College averaged a mere 80 students. The situation prompted the United Brethren Church, which founded the College, to call upon the services of Rev. Job Smith Mills from Ohio. There Mills had successfully served as an administrator at Otterbein University and as President of Western College. In 1901, Bishop Mills was called to serve as Bishop of Eastern Pennsylvania and as Trustee of Lebanon Valley College. At that time, members of the Board of Trustees at LVC dedicated themselves to an intense expansion campaign: from approximately 1900 to 1905 the College built five new buildings. One of the buildings erected in those years was Carnegie Library. Mary Keister Mills, the wife of the Bishop and a member of the well-to-do Keister family, greatly admired the library. So in 1905, the Mary and Job Mills – both in their 50s – contracted with the architect of the Carnegie Library, Abner A. Ritcher, to build them a home in Annville in a similar Georgian style. The goal was to have a large home both the Bishop and his wife might eventually retire under the care of the family maid, Mary, their son, Alfred, and his new bride, Edith. |
Bishop J.S. Mills |
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Carnegie Library |
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Mary Keister Mills |
Mary Keister Mills: Construction (1905-1906) The Mills family purchased the plot of land at 444 East Main Street from H.H. Kreider for a five dollar deposit and eleven dollars per frontage foot, for a total of $1,622. Grading the land required four teams of horses that hauled the 349 loads of earth to property. Mrs. Mills kept fastidious notes on the project. On November 16, 1905, for example, she noted that she paid a man 36 cents for 3 hours of grading work. Remarkably, Mrs. Mills’ notes still remain in the house.
Architect Abner Ritcher and his staff worked diligently on the design of the house, as a testimony to his lifelong goal “to elevate the profession and create a demand for better things."* More than 50 drawings detailing the architectural and interior wood work of the home are extant. In addition, a 37‑page document details building specifications. A note on page 36 demonstrates the wisdom of the document and invokes visions of the construction workers of the period: “Contractor shall see to it that no tobacco is used when floors and finishing woodwork is put down; if any floors are discolored or disfigured in any manner with tobacco or other means they will be planed again over the entire surface.” On May 7, 1906 the house was completed and entirely paid for, costing a total of $8,444.10. |
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4 Teams Bring Landfill to
444 E.
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Alfred and Edith Mills: The Early Years (1906-1929) Bishop Mills continued his work at the College and in the region until his death on September 16, 1909. Mary Keister Mills enjoyed the home with her son Alfred Keister Mills, his wife Edith Frantz Mills, and their three young children – Mary Grace, Alfred Jr. (“Bud”) and Catherine – until her death in 1916. After her death, Alfred and Edith inherited the house, along with part of the Keister fortune. Alfred, freed from the necessity of work, spent his time collecting cars and managing his investments, a task which proved difficult with the coming of the Great Depression. Depression Struggles (1930s) Along with many others, the Mills Family suffered significant financial loss in the Depression Years. Alfred ran for and was elected to the position of prothonotary, an officer of the county court, for Lebanon County. Edith, an accomplished contralto who had sung at the opening broadcast of radio station WJZ in New York, obtained work at the College as a voice teacher. Several of the singing groups that she directed in the 1920s and 30s regularly met at 444 East Main Street. The eldest daughter, Mary Grace Mills, contributed to the family income by growing corn in the land behind the house (currently the site of Lebanon Valley Home). She would sell the best corn fresh, and dry the rest to sell as corn meal. Mary Grace also taught ballet in the entryway of the house and raised rabbits in the back yard, selling their meat and fur. “Bud” caught muskrats and sold their furs in these years.
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Edith Frantz Mills (center) and her children
(L‑R “Bud,” Catherine and Mary Grace) are visited by brother Frederick
Frantz (center) and parents Grace and Daniel Frantz of
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Alfred Keister Mills has a car brought down
from his garage at the “old livery” on the corner of
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Years of Relative Quiet (1940s-1970s) Following the Depression, the three children moved out of the house. In addition to her many singing groups, Edith designed and planted the lawn and gardens that still adorn the back yard. Albert died in the 1950s. In the 1970s Edith’s advanced age resulted in her move to a retirement home. |
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Bruce Johnson at work in the studio at
Gallery 444 |
Bruce and Donna Johnson (1978-2003) When Edith Frantz Mills died in 1978, the house was sold to Bruce and Donna Johnson, who replaced an aging slate roof. The renovations they made to the kitchen earned them a national merit award from Better Home and Gardens in 1982. The Johnsons are best-remembered in the area, however, for the very successful business at the home: “Gallery 444.” Many members of the community in the Johnson years visited the framing shop in the basement, the gallery on the first floor, the residence on the second floor, and the studio on the third floor. To enhance the business, Bruce and his son, Dane, designed the gardens and ponds in the backyard over the course of several years. They were inspired in part by several trips that Bruce took to the Far East at that time. Continued Renovations (2003-) In 2003 the Johnsons sold the home to a family from New Jersey, the Beittels, who worked on the house with great care. They replaced the wallpaper on the first floor and transformed a sitting room on the second floor into a bathroom with a much-needed second shower. When they inherited another historic home in New Jersey in 2005, many people expressed interest in buying the Mills estate. The Beittels decided to sell the historic home of the bishop who served Lebanon Valley College to the incoming Chaplain of the College and his family, who live there presently. The Fullmers have added a historic marker, path lights to the exterior walkways, and an air-conditioning system to the interior. |
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Line Art by Bruce Johnson |
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In March of 2006, Bruce Johnson – now an internationally-acclaimed artist – took the time to write the following words of inspiration to the Chaplain and his wife about 444 East Main Street: “That house is still dear to our hearts. It was the strength we needed at the early time of my career. I believe it was part of the reason we did become successful. People say that material things are not important but they are very important to me. We now live in a Wal-Mart society. Things don't have to be good, just cheap. The house you live in can never be duplicated. It is a treasure. It was built with love, love lived in it, and the house is returning the love to you. Take care of it and enjoy its grandeur and quality. I am sure the house will also give you strength.” |
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Bruce Johnson's ponds at 444 East Main Street
in the foreground of the Mills' Gardens.
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| * 1908 letter from Abner A. Ritcher to Glenn Brown of the American Institute of Architects. | ||
