Seth Peterson Cottage
E9982 Fern Dell Road
Mirror Lake, WI
Year Built: 1958
Year Built: 1958
The Wright-designed tiny home is only 880 square feet with one bedroom and one-bath, and a deck overlooking a lake. Although small, the house is packed with everything that makes a Frank Lloyd Wright home unique.
About the Rental
Frank Lloyd Wright’s spending was what got this tiny home built. Mr. Wright was ripe and 90 years old when he received a retainer from a young man named Seth Peterson to design a small home. Peterson had asked Wright to design him a home multiple times, but Wright stated that he was too busy. However, when Peterson sent a $1,000 retainer, Wright, always in a precarious financial situation, promptly spent it. Being unable to come up with the money to return to Mr. Peterson, Wright was forced to accept the commission.
Peterson was also cash strapped and was forced to cut costs by doing some construction himself. And unfortunately, Peterson, at the age of 24, ended up taking his own life shortly before the house was complete in 1960.
Six years later, the state bought the house but ended up abandoning it. However, in 1989, the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, a group of local volunteers, negotiated a lease with the State Parks Department to take over management of the house. After the involvement of this group of volunteers, the small cottage was restored and renovated and, with the growing popularity of overnight rentals, became a successful overnight rental.
