William J. + Clara L. Nicolls

337 E. Curtin Street, Bellefonte, PA

1891 | Residence | Extant

“Minerva Parker, architect, 14 S. Broad street, Phila., is engaged on...plans for a summer cottage, for Wm. J. Nichols, 216 S. Third street, to be erected at Bellefonte, Pa., frame and stone, fitted with modern conveniences.” (March 25, 1891)

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NOTE: Based on the similarity in name and spelling, I thought for many years that this project was for “William I. [Ichabod] Nichols,” Minerva’s eventual husband. However, recent research has confirmed that it was designed as a summer cottage for William J. [Jasper] Nicolls, an engineer. He married Clara Lyon in 1882, and the couple lived in Philadelphia. In 1888, they purchased their first property in Bellefonte, with the intention of making it their summer destination. They commissioned a summer home from Minerva in 1891, and owned the property until 1908.

The home may be the “prospective summer cottage” Minerva featured in her January 1891 essay for The Home-Maker magazine.