The Peter J. Miller House, built around 1830 in Greek Revival style, is one of the last remaining pre-Civil War lakefront houses in Lorain County. Peter Miller married Ruth Houseworth in 1828, and they had five children. After Peter Miller died in 1851, his family is believed to have remained on the property until 1925. The City of Avon Lake purchased the property in 1962, opened the house for tours, and restored it as funds became available. In 1975, a burst water heating system caused extensive damage, but a new committee that took over in 1985 successfully restored the house. Since September 1989, volunteer trustees have overseen its operation as a museum. Peter J. Miller’s father, Adam Miller, was among the first non-Native permanent settlers in what is now the City of Avon Lake. Adam and Anna Teamount Miller, immigrants from New York, settled in Avon Township in 1819 and had 10 children, with Alexis the oldest known child and Peter the youngest. A story in the 1844 edition of William McGuffey’s Second Reader is believed to recount an incident from Peter’s life in which, while walking home through a swamp, he was chased up a tree by a bear that bit at his shoes; after three attempts to reach him, both fell to the ground, Peter ran for his life, and the bear abandoned the chase.