Historic Clarion House Sold as Single-Family Residence

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published November 17, 2020 5:45 am
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CLARION, Pa. (EYT) — Clarion Borough’s only historic bed and breakfast will now be a single-family home after it was purchased this week by a family with five children.

Bill and Judy Miller owned and operated the Clarion House at the corner of Seventh Avenue and South Street for many years and, after retirement, decided to sell the home as another bed and breakfast or to someone who would take care of the house and grounds.

On sale for a few years, the property received some interest. Still, either the buyers could not obtain a mortgage, or there were proposals to do different things with the house, or even demolish it and use the seven lots on the site for other buildings.

Nevertheless, the Millers were pleased when the family with five children approached them. The family has asked that they not be identified in this story.

“We’re really happy how it all turned out,” Bill Miller said. “We had numerous people who could not get a mortgage or whatever reason. We love this house, and we’re leaving with a great feeling that it’s going to be well taken care of by the new family.”

The new owner is also pleased with the purchase and the fact that each child will have his/or her own bedroom.

“We want to keep up the tradition of the house and caring for the property,” said the new owner. “We’re going to use it as a regular family residence with hopes that one day (it) may be possible to use it again as a bed and breakfast.”

The Millers purchased the home in 1992, but the building was constructed in 1984.

A brief Facebook announcement stated: “We have sold our house and will be moving to Sarver’s Mill, in Sarver, PA. 58 years of accumulated ‘things’ has been difficult but also very enjoyable to sort through and pack.”

During an interview for this story, Bill continued, “It’s with mixed feelings that we’re leaving. with a feeling of relief.

“We wanted to be within an hour of Clarion, so we could pick up my son Bill. We will also be close to our son Nathan and wife Sarah, and three grandchildren. We will be 50 yards from their home. It’s a great neighborhood with front porches and wide sidewalks, and friendly people. We’ve been attracted to our new location for some time. It’s all just working out for us.”

“Friendly people” are what many Clarion people call Bill and Judy Miller, so they should fit in their new community.

A complete history of the Clarion House was reported in 2019 on exploreClarion.com, and we are reprinting it below.

Bill and Judy Miller

Bill and Judy Miller

Clarion House: A Brief History

Twenty-seven years ago, Bill and Judy Miller were sitting in one of the many rooms of a large historical house they had purchased and were busily discussing plans for a massive renovation that would allow them to open the Clarion House Bed and Breakfast at the corner of South Street and Seventh Avenue in four months.

Clarion’s first and only official bed and breakfast was a success, and after running the business for 27 years, the couple decided it was time to retire last November. However, they still live in the house that they proudly nurtured.

“It was really an act of love with everything we did for this house,” said Bill Miller. “We realize we can never get out of the house as much money as we put into it, but we have memories that will last forever from the people who made this their home away from home and the many people we work with over the years.”

Many customers were repeat visitors over the years. Others were in the area for business and university-related activities such as interviews. An upstairs apartment and garage apartment are still being rented.

This isn’t the first time the couple retired.

Judy worked as a fifth-grade teacher for 13 years, and Bill was the men’s swimming coach at Clarion University for 22 seasons from 1979-2000 and the women’s swim team for 13 seasons before retiring in 2000. He also coached at Seneca Valley and Norwin High Schools before Clarion.

The idea of bed and breakfast was a dream of the Millers who travel extensively around the world, visiting other bed and breakfasts. Bill, an internationally respected swim coach, would often contract to offer swimming clinics throughout the world and had some unique opportunities to see how other people offered bed and breakfast housing.

The Clarion House Bed and Breakfast building was planned and constructed as a private residence by Dr. Charles Ross and his wife Harriet Cook Ross in 1894. Dr. Ross studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and practiced medicine in Clarion until he died in 1938. Harriet was the daughter of Judge Andrew Cook, owner of what is now Cook Forest State Park. Because of this family relationship, much of the house is crafted from hardwoods grown in Cook Forest.

In the early 1940s, the house remained vacant for a few years until purchased by Fred S. Port of Clarion, who made it into a rental property. According to Bill, Port gave each of his daughters a house, and daughter Alice Port Rupert and her husband Don moved into the house in 1959 and gradually reconverted the house from an apartment house into a family residence with a third-floor rental apartment. The Rupert family modernized the plumbing, heating, and electrical systems while keeping much of the interior architecture in the late 1800s.

It was a house with “good bones” and ideal for conversion to bed and breakfast.

The original hardwood floors are still there, along with a stately wooden staircase that winds up to the second floor.

Harriet was an artist, and many of her own handcrafted, leaded, stained glass windows and doors are still throughout the house. There are also nine fireplaces and four chimneys within the house. The third floor was a servant’s quarter and is now used as an apartment.

The house was one of the first houses in Clarion to have electricity. There are still original chandeliers hanging throughout the house, and they are gasoliers with electric and gas lighting in the same unit.

Before the Millers purchased the house, Clarion University Trustees were seriously considering purchasing it as a new home for the Clarion University President. In the end, trustees and the State System of Higher Education decided first to consider building a home on Main Street near the edge of campus, but then built the current official residence behind Still Hall.

Bill and Judy purchased the house in 1992 and began renovations that would become the Clarion House Bed and Breakfast. The renovations included adding four new second floor bathrooms and the upgrading of the existing bathroom, adding storm windows, insulation, and upgrading the electrical and heating systems. At this time, the owner’s suite was established, and a two-bedroom apartment was created from half of the very large garage.

Gradually, the historic icehouse was repurposed as a garden shed complete with electricity and shelving. New sidewalks replaced older ones; flower gardens and raised beds for berries and vegetables were made. Improvement in the basement’s four rooms included a large sewing room, a model train room, and a large room for the storage of seasonal decorations and the many Christmas trees that decorated the B&B during the holiday season, and a large general storage room. Other improvements included the addition of the South Street porch and a custom-designed kitchen.

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