I stayed at this cabin several times years ago in my mid 20s via a, um, staff member of
the Sapan household, as well as another home of theirs in the general region, and I admit that it is very charming, and that the family was indeed incredibly generous and welcoming in the ways described here. At the time, as a young aspiring artist, this place probably changed my life in intangible ways. I suspect I seek that magic elsewhere as a result.
I live next door you can see my blue beach chairs on the right side of the river shot. To all the naysayers it really is a small cabin, 1000 square feet might be pushing it. It is a great location and on a part of the river between rapids with a mile of calm water. Twice in 2006 the river flooded the bottom level which is a garage, basement and changing stalls, hence the last renovation. I have never met Mr. Sapan but share the river with the summer renters. The river IS a magical place with eagles, herons, hawks and waterfowl of all types. I was born in Milford and have enjoyed the river my hole life.
Milford is associated with many science fiction writers. Authors Damon Knight, James Blish and Judy Merrill also lived there. It was the setting for the annual Milford Science Fiction Writers Conference for many years, starting in the 1950s, which spun off other "Milford" conferences, most notably in the UK and Seattle, as well as the "New Wave" in SF in the mid-1960s.
Also in Milford, the foundations were laid for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, an active organization which presents the annual Nebula Awards.
For more information about how Milford looms so large in the science fictional universe, see the Wikipedia page here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milford_Writer's_Workshop
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Having been on several writer's retreats, I can say that the sense of isolation this gives, along with the easy escape of a short walk to downtown, is ideal for a writer. It's great (it's wonderful!) to have a secured, warm and quiet place to write, but when you need to NOT write, when you need to get your mind off your work for a short while, if you don't have a place to go to (like hiking trails or suchlike) it can become claustrophobic. This sounds like a writer's paradise. I enjoyed reading about it.
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Cabin? Please.
That's a cabin? C'mon.....
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I get your premise of namedropping. NY Times, must you succumb to being a tabloid ?
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A place to be quiet, to watch the river flow and the clouds pass by, and so to have a space to listen and to dream. Nice to hear of an owner sharing.
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Bit of a stretch to call this a 'cabin,' but okay. It's always entertaining to watch the wealthy struggle to emulate lesser lives, if only for a moment. A key ingredient seems to be the need to list a menu of former inhabitants.
It's just all so cute.
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If that's a cabin, I'm a genius.
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What a lovely home by the river...
But oh my!
Why would anyone, least of all a house guest, purchase an atrocious desk chair and leave it behind upon their departure?
The epitome of bad taste!
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@Robert J. Wlkinson, Probably he needed a chair that would support his tempermental back while he sat and typed on his computer. (That is what I am doing now on my desk chair.) He likely supposed that he was doing future guests a favor by leaving it there. I don't see it as atrocious, just out of tune with the rustic decor evident in the other pictures. That could be remedied by putting an appropriately patterned throw over the back.
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Is there another Franz Liszt besides the classical composer? The article says he slept here. Liszt died in 1886 and cottage was built in the 1940's. Did the author mean he slept in Milford, Pa but not specifically the cottage? I didn't think Liszt ever visited US.
Lovely, but no mention of the Gifford Pinchot connection, or the first summer camp of the Yale School of Forestry, oldest in America.
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“I just love houses on rivers and I really love this house,” said Mr. Sapan, 67, the president and chief executive of AMC Networks, a Manhattan-based company that owns and operates cable channels including AMC, BBC America and SundanceTV. “I don’t know what it is. I find it quite magical, if that’s the right word.”
Somebody, please get the president and chief executive of AMC Networks a thesaurus.
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My husband and I have owned a weekend home near Milford for 15 years and we truly love the area and town. It is the complete opposite of the Hamptons. The town of Milford has very diverse architecture , anything from colonial, to Victorian, to Arts and Crafts. It also was the site of Yale University’s first Forestry School.
As for rob blakes comments about what a cabin is, he should visit the area, it is working class, and yes it would be considered a cabin by the locals. Obviously the owner is well off, what is he suppose to have a weekend retreat in a trailer park.
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I have known about the McCourt Milford connection for a long time. When he spoke at a NYC bookstore I asked him about it and he said the Delaware reminded him of Limerick’s River Shannon. He said he’d put his feet in the water and find inspiration to continue writing. Sweet.
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The author of this piece, their editor, the person who writes the headlines and the rest of you there @ the NYT's have a very warped, insular, 1% view of what a "cabin" is.
I'd venture to guess that at least 50% of Americans DON'T live in a place this palatial or splendorous
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@rob blake - shhhhh, where I live most houses look like this!
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@rob blake 50%, 75% whatever the percentage is what difference does it make?
You make it sound as though Mr. Sapan is part of the 1% that's robbing the middle and lower-middle-class of a place to live.
He has generously loaned his home/retreat to writers, not exactly the 1%ers either.
If you want to complain about nomenclature why not refer to the "cottages" in Newport, R.I.
Why not just enjoy reading about the history of the house/cabin and looking at the photographs?
I know I have enjoyed the article very much, in fact, the one section that allows me to escape our deranged politics is the Real Estate section...oh and by the way, I am not exactly on easy street as I am living in my friend's guest room awaiting an opening in a senior housing building.
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@rob Blake MANSIONS in Newport RI are referred to as "cottages" these are simply quaint words which stuck in the vernacular and are themselves rather funny, ironic and charming.
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Lovely, but......where are the boats?
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What a wonderful story. A charming Pennsylvania town where a house in a bucolic area is utilized as an incubator for writers working on projects. One can easily see by reading the story and viewing the pictures how writers can feel at peace in such a beautiful setting.
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