HISTORY

In 1902 Mildred Steffens was born in a tiny farmhouse that was a homestead dating back at least to the 1830's. She was one of nine siblings, but only she lived and farmed there for her full 86 years. Mid-century she was shacked up with a man named Vincent Miller and the site was then known as 'the old Miller farm'. The Buildings were left empty after she died, and the site came to be called Mildred's Lane in memory of her and her remarkable life. Since 1998 when Mark Dion, J. Morgan Puett, and friends discovered the land, it has hosted many experiments, artists, events, projects and other wondrous forms of conviviality.

The original farmhouse where Mildred lived is now the site of a museum becoming, The Mildred's Lane Historical Society and Museum, that holds the preservation of histories and projects of past, present as well as ongoing occurrences of Mildred's Lane. In May of 2007, we began the Mildred Archaeology Project that is an ongoing archeological research of the site's history. The original Homestead now holds the efforts of the Mildred's Lane Program, history, and archives. The Mildred House, as we refer to it, is the heart of this site, and gateway to the greater conceptual and physical environment of Mildred's Lane.

Many Artists have contributed works to The Mildred's Lane Historical Society and Museum this includes a set of hand made canoes by Bob Braine, other works by Jorge Colombo, Brian Conley, Gregory Crewdsen, Mark Dion, Moyra Davey, Sean Foley, Hope Ginsburg, Fritz Haeg, Jeffrey Jenkins, Athena Kokoronis, Julian Laverdiere, Matt Mullican, Nils Norman, Michael Oatman, J. Morgan Puett, Rebecca Purcell, William Purcell, Alexis Rockman, Jason Simon, Allison Smith, Spurse, Jeffrey Valance, Amy Yoes– just to name a few.