wanting to become a drummer boy in the Spanish–American War. In late 1902, at the age of 17, Lewis finally left Sauk Centre to attend school on the East Coast, ultimately graduating from Yale University in 1908. Lewis's experiences growing up in Sauk Centre were the inspiration for his first novel, Main Street, published in 1920. Many episodes in the novel derive from real events in his youth. More crucially, he bared his frustrations with his outsider status, extolling small-town values while savaging those who were hypocritical about them. Main Street brought Lewis swift international fame. However the residents of Sauk Centre recognized the real-life inspirations in the novel's fictional town of Gopher Prairie and were offended. Later history By the mid-20th century the house had been converted to a duplex, with the lower level dining room converted into a bedroom and bathroom and a kitchen installed on the second floor. Other alterations included stucco applied to the exterior, the ground floor kitchen partitioned and the door to the rear porch sealed, floors replaced, the front porch enclosed, and a dormer added to the roofline. In 1956 the Sinclair Lewis Foundation acquired the house. With assistance from the Minnesota Historical Society, they restored the house to its appearance during the time of Lewis's residence. In addition to reverting the numerous alterations, they brought back period wallpaper, reroofed the house and carriage house, installed HVAC equipment in the basement, and restored the grounds. The restoration was largely funded by the Foundation's sale of the Sinclair Lewis birthplace house across the street, and was completed in 2003. The house is now furnished with appropriate period items, including several genuinely owned by the Lewis family. See also List of National Historic Landmarks in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places listings in Stearns County, Minnesota References External links Biographical museums in Minnesota Historic house museums in Minnesota Houses completed in 1889 Houses in Stearns County, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Literary museums in the United States Museums in Stearns County, Minnesota National Historic Landmarks in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Stearns County, Minnesota Sinclair Lewis