These two houses, originally called “The Terrace Boarding House” and “The Fox Cottage”, have been in Chautauqua from its beginning.  By the 1880’s their builders and owners, both ancestors of the present landlady, were providing “room and board” to season visitors.

Maps of Chautauqua published in the 19th century separate lots 9 and 13 by another lot simply marked “Ladies” rather than 11.  It was visited by women and girls from cottages circling Miller Park and along nearby streets.  Today this middle lot is owned and maintained by the Mohlers as a quiet garden which includes a patio, pond, small bridge, pagoda and shrine, and many trees and plants predating Chautauqua Institution itself.

Just prior to the turn of the 19th to the 20th century, both houses were enlarged.  By 1910 plumbing and electricity had been added, and before 1925 the “floors” in each were made into separate apartments.  Every apartment was given a private porch, two bedrooms, bath, living room, and kitchen.  In recent years they have all been remodeled and redone, providing modern comfort while maintaining the original cottage “character” of two of the oldest buildings in Chautauqua’s Historic District.  The landlady herself grew up in the Fox Cottage and she and her husband are always happy to tell antidotes and stories of Chautauqua’s past.

The location of these apartments is marked on the Chautauqua map.  They are one block north-east of Bestor Plaza, between Miller and Vincent Streets.  South Terrace is a quiet and peaceful street, close to the Amphitheater, Miller Park, and lake, as well as the Plaza.  The Mohlers live in no. 9 and each summer rent their “guest apartment” (top floor), as well as the three apartments in no. 13, to couples and families coming to Chautauqua.  Recent renters have described these four apartments as “charming”, “comfortable”, “ideal location”, “convenient”, and “each summer when we return it’s like coming home”.

It is a wonderful place of which we are very proud.

The Mohlers