Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home

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This is the boyhood home of Sinclair Lewis, who became the first American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930. The home has been restored and tours are available.

The town of Sauk Centre inspired the setting for Sinclair’s 1920 novel Main Street, although in the book it is called Gopher Prairie. Astute readers will notice streets and other landmarks in the community that relate to the book Main Street and Sinclair Lewis.

Know Before You Go

Tours are available in the summer, so check the website for times. It’s an interesting museum about a great write. One quirk is that the book MainStreet was not very generous about the residents of Sauk Centre. So, many people in the community didn’t appreciate Sinclair Lewis because of that. However, those folks are long gone and Sinclair Lewis is honored I the community with the following: a stature next to the library, a giant mural on the Palmer House Hotel, an annual writers conference - put on by the Sinclair Lewis Foundation, and the annual assignment to of MainStreet to student at Sauk Centre High School. One more fun fact: the Sauk Centre School team name is the Mainstreeters in honor of the Original MainStreet & Sinclair Lewis.