The Miller Mansion
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The History of The Miller Mansion
The big house, the castle, the Miller Mansion and many other designations have been used for nearly one hundred years to describe the residence at 401 W. Jefferson in Pittsburg, Kansas. Although its physical appearance looks much as it did when it was first constructed, the building reflects a by-gone era of boom town prosperity and opulence. An examination of the dwelling’s history and a consideration of its early occupants will contribute to an understanding of the “elite” element of Pittsburg society during the first part of the twentieth century.
Vast mineral wealth of coal, lead and zinc in the S.E. Kansas and S.W. Missouri contributed to the foundation and growth of Pittsburg. In the 1870’s, a group of shrewd men decided to develop a town in the center of a 40x10 square mile coal field and midway between the Girard railroad terminus and the Joplin lead and zinc mines. They reasoned that the local coal could be mined and then transported to Joplin on the railroad that ran from Girard to Joplin and there it could be used to smelt the ore. The new location proved to be better than anticipated since, as it was soon discovered it cost less to reverse the hauling process and have the ore brought to the coal for smelting. Pittsburg therefore constructed smelters which served as the town’s chief support until coal mining became the basic industry. Plentiful jobs and a coal supply expected to last for two hundred years naturally lured an increased number of settlers to the vicinity. While Pittsburg’s population rose at a rapid rate, various other businesses sprang up to accommodate its growing needs. By the turn of the century, this flourishing municipality had gained the title, the “Pittsburg of the West.”
One of the town’s infant businesses was the Pittsburg Improvement Company, a real estate agency, owned and operated by Constantine A. Miller and his attorney James B. Smith. In 1902, the Company as a speculative venture, purchased a tract of land situated southwest of the town limits which they intended to subdivide and sell for residential development. Including within this southwest parcel were lots 103 and 104 of Stillwell Place, the later site of the Miller Mansion. In the meantime however, the Pittsburg Improvement Company began to sell their real estate and in 1907 Paul H. Biles purchased these two vacant lots in Stillwell Place.
Paul Biles was a baker and ran the Biles Brothers Bakery and Confectionery Shop located at 211 N. Broadway. Paul and his wife Emma worked in the bakery and made additional investments, for example- purchasing timber in Arkansas- until they had amassed a sizable fortune. Undoubtedly to flaunt their business success, the Biles decided to build a large, imposing house on their two lots in Pittsburg.
The structure was the first three-story brick home to be erected south of W. Euclid, the town’s fashionable residential district. When building commenced, a two-story frame farm-house among open fields and dirt roads was the only distinguishing feature in the immediate landscape. The house stands on the southwest corner of W. Jefferson and S. College. The first photo on the intro page shows the actual front of the house which faces Jefferson Street on the north. A conglomeration of architectural styles, the building’s basic style can best be described as Victorian since characteristic turrets, balconies and elaborate balustrades are incorporated into the large bulky forms. High pitched roofs and gables, three porches, three balconies and countless windows with stone lintels and sills, plus a porte cochère are external peculiarities. Somehow these aspects blend into an eclectic harmony.
The designers and builders extended themselves to make the shell of the edifice strong and durable. As one may observe from examining this remarkable preserved old home, they began by pouring a sub floor, then a two foot thick concrete basement floor and six basement rooms with nine inch thick walls. They used Carthage stone, known for its resistance to weathering, for the outside foundation. On this solid foundation three and one-half story, wooden frame was built and three storied a reinforced with brick veneer which gave the walls double strength.
The top one –half story, the attic, was overlaid with asbestos shingles and the same shingles cover the roof. The roof seems were protected by copper flashing which would resist rusting. All of the decorative wood used on the exterior such as the balcony railings, window sills and overhangs was either cypress or oak. Both were distinguished for their long wearing properties.
The interior of the home shows that efforts were made by the builders to create a “grand effect”, but is revealed their concern for beauty as well. The sheer size and weight of the exterior might make the interior dark and gloomy were it not for the preponderance of windows on every floor and on every side of the house. It was not built with stained glass windows, but there were two leaded and beveled windows which cast “rainbows” inside when the sun shines through them. The twelve windows in the turrets are the highlights of the home. They are curved and flawless. The two on the east side of the ground floor are yellow tinted and rough textured alleviating the need for curtains.
The most striking feature of the “big house” is its interior woodwork. On the first floor all of the wood is oak including the floors, deep baseboards, window molding, door molding and door casings. These moldings are grooved and appealing to the eye. Two inch thick oak doors can be used to shut off any or all of the downstairs rooms. The front entry is embellished with oak colonnades, a built in hall bench, wainscoting and the front staircase which rises from the side. These ceilings are composed of square and rectangular inserts set between beams and cross beams and are surrounded by ten inch dropped molding on the walls.
The Biles later divorced. Curiously, the residence at 309 W. Euclid was Con Miller’s house and as Emma Miles moved in, Con and his wife Mary moved to her house on W. Jefferson. The exact reason for the swap is not known, but it is possible that Mary Miller and Emma Biles were friends and Mary instigated the exchange. Whatever the reason, the new residence was good advertising for the now prospering real estate salesman.
C.A. Miller came to Kansas with his family as a boy living on a farm south of Pittsburg. He married Mary Hughes on May 19, 1886 and moved to Pittsburg. In 1890, he decided to go into his own business and founded the Pittsburg Improvement Company. Active in city affairs, Con Miller was a member of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce and served as its president in 1899. He was also one of the first stockholders in the Pittsburg Savings and Loan Association.
The Miller’s had two daughters, Merle and Adele Mary, both had married and moved from the parents home before the move to W. Jefferson took place. Although they kept in close contact with their family, Con and Mary actively pursued their business and social interest. Guest frequented the Miller Mansion.
Whether to suit themselves or to impress visitors, the Miller’s decorated the interior elaborately and appointed it expensively. The first floor was done in green and gold. Room size oriental rugs covered the floors and heavy tapestry draperies hung at the windows. Among their pieces of oversized furniture was an electric player piano which converted the rather stuffy parlor into a fun-filled music room. A grandfather clock, which could be heard all over the house, stood on the landing of the front stairs. The dining room furniture was very formal and took up nearly all of the space in the 18 x 15 room. Off the dining room is a small oval room formed by the projecting turret, The Miller’s used it for a telephone room after installing one of the first telephones in the town. The number was 40. The kitchen at the very back of the house held another town “first”- a Kelvinator.
Back stairs wind from the kitchen to the third floor which the Miller’s used for their general entertainment room. A full sized ballroom, the floor was bare and there was room for dancing as well as the popular pool table. A side room was reserved for the men’s game room. A speaking tube ran from this room to the kitchen and offered a convenient way for a gentleman to order liquid refreshment without alerting the ladies. Beyond the game room is a hidden room which must have tempted many an enterprising couple.
Heating and cooling a home which contains over 32,000 square feet of floor space could pose a problem, yet in the case of the Miller Mansion the opposite is true. The original furnace was fired with coal, but Con had a new furnace and gas-powered boiler installed for a hot water system. The radiators were located on the outside walls in order to warm the room evenly. This was an innovative heating method for the time, since usually radiators were installed on the inside walls, warming the center of the room but not the corners. The heating system is extremely effective and there is seldom any need to close
off any of the rooms. When the weather is very cold never the less, the two fireplaces, one in the music room and one in the kitchen, are sometimes necessary. The exterior brick walls act as insulation in the winter and help to keep the heat inside, while in the summer they serve to reversed role and help to keep the heat out. Other features also contribute to the cooling process. All of the doors and windows are screened and an excellent cross circulation can be acquired if only the doors are kept open. The turrets are functional as well as decorative. If the top window is lowered in each turret, on each floor, a natural suction is created and the hot air is virtually sucked from the interior of the house and drawn outside.
A man, named Ed, was hired to be the Miller’s chauffeur. He lived above the carriage house, which had been built at the same time as the house. This carriage house shows very little architectural relationship to the main building and in fact looks like a barn that could be found in the French countryside, although it has double faced brick walls and an asbestos roof. While the ground floor housed Con’s car and had a revolving wheel in the floor to facilitate its repair and polishing, the second floor boasted a commodious living space. Water, gas and electricity were connected for Ed, but he ate his meals in the kitchen of the main house.
Soon after Ed was hired, Mary obtained her own “electric” and preferred to drive it herself. The lady socialite never concerned herself with driving etiquette, she merely drove- usually down the middle of the road- and woe be to anyone who got in her way. With Ed’s driving chores diminished, he took on the gardening. There was a cherry orchard on the south side of the yard and grassed the remainder. Due to Ed’s efforts the lawn was a veritable carpet, always trimmed and cut. Con had his gardener plant new trees and shrubbery and many of them were unusual varieties, including a dogwood that had been grafted to produce both pink and white blooms on the same tree. Ed may have regretted his planting efforts in the fall, when he had to work nearly a month raking and burning the fruits of his labor.
The master bath, originally the only bath, had a sink, an eight foot tub and a water closet. Miller had the water closet replaced with a “streamlined” oval toilet and added a shower. Marble and ceramic tile was used to make the shower walls and a faucet for regulating the water temperature put today’s models to shame. A bedroom on the second floor was converted to a large walk-in closet and Mary’s bath. The walls and the floor of this room was covered with light green ceramic tile with clothing hooks created out of the same material. An electric heater was installed in the wall to heat the chill from the tile floor. The fixtures were smaller than those in the master bath, but equally modern. Before the “bath room fever” abated, a half-bath was put in the first floor, east turret and if nothing more, it offered added convenience.
Con Miller had died in the spring of 1938 and Adele Miller Hood had died in the spring of 1939. Mary Miller sold the Miller Mansion and moved to the Stillwell Hotel. In 1949, Merle Miller Hill, the only surviving daughter, made a legal claim that her mother Mary Miller “was a distracted person and by reason thereof, was incompetent and incapable of looking after her property and estate.” The courts therefore, legally declared Mary incompetent and granted Merle guardianship rights. Merle managed to control the Miller fortune from then on- it quickly disappeared.
Life in Pittsburg is much different today from the way it was in the early 1900’s. The town is no longer a booming, growing center of the coal and mining business.
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