Miller Mansion: Akron’s Hidden Historical Gem

Akron, Ohio

Tucked away between Glendale Cemetery and Route 59 in Akron is an old mansion turned apartment building. Known as Miller Mansion, Oak Park Hill, and Oak Place, this 1870 building was once the home of Lewis Miller and his family, including his daughter Mina, who married Thomas Edison on the grounds.

Who Was Lewis Miller?

Although everyone is familiar with Thomas Edison, few remember the inventor of the Buckeye Mower and Reaper. Born in 1829 in nearby Greentown, Lewis Miller started his career at Ball, Aultman & Co, a manufacturer of farming equipment. From there, he founded Aultman, Miller & Co, another farm equipment company, and later Buckeye Mower and Reaper Works. He kept developing improvements on existing plows, reapers, threshers, and more. In all, Miller wound up with 92 patents and enshrinement in the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame.

However, what he’s most famous for isn’t something that he did himself. Instead, it’s who his daughter married: Thomas Edison.

Mina Miller and Thomas Edison

In 1852, Lewis Miller married Mary Valinda Alexander, later known as Mary Miller. They went on to have eleven children, including Mina Miller. Mina, born in 1865, grew up in Miller Mansion. As was the custom of the day among upper-class women, she graduated from high school in Akron, Ohio, then went on to finishing school in Boston, Massachusetts before spending time traveling around the country with her siblings.

She met Thomas Edison (born in Milan, Ohio) by chance in 1885. He was 38 years old and a recent widower with three children while she was 20 and living the life of a wealthy young woman. Apparently, Edison was instantly smitten with Mina. The two communicated via Morse code while apart, and he even used it to propose to her. They married the next year, in 1886.

The Miller-Edison Wedding

On February 24, 1886, Mina Miller and Thomas Edison exchanged vows in the parlor of Miller Mansion, now known as Oak Place. They swiftly moved to Glenmont, Edison’s home in West Orange, New Jersey, and has three children of their own.

However, this is where Mina’s story ends. She took to homemaking with all of the inventive power of her husband, revolutionizing how houses should be run. Utilizing her staff, she took on the role of a “Home Executive” (her term) and discovered ways to make the home consistently look nice while keeping track of everything that her maid, gardeners, and cook did. Taking inspiration from women famous in the housekeeping sphere, like Catharine Beecher and Ellen Swallow Richards, Mina left her own mark on how upper class women took care of their homes.

What About Miller Mansion?

Lewis Miller passed away in 1899. His wife followed around a decade later, in 1912. As his children dispersed around the area, Miller Mansion fell into other hands, and eventually was broken into 18 apartments. The current owners are determined to continually improve the property, making sure that the memories of Lewis, Mina, and the rest of the family are preserved for others to view. And, since the building now consists of apartments, you can live there as well, enjoying your own little slice of interesting local history.