The Landmark Cameron Estate Inn Re-opens after a 4 Year Hiatus

Lancaster Countys largest Inn and restaurant re-opens to the public to recapture the hospitality and grandeur of old. The Inns 18 guest rooms and an upscale-casual restaurant provide the guests with an enchanting stay and/or a truly remarkable dining experience.

Lancaster Countys largest Inn and restaurant re-opens to the public to recapture the hospitality and grandeur of old. The Inns 18 guest rooms and an upscale-casual restaurant provide the guests with an enchanting stay and/or a truly remarkable dining experience.

The Landmark Cameron Estate Inn Re-opens after a 4 Year Hiatus

The Cameron Estate Inn, once the summer estate of President Lincoln's Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, has re-opened to the public to provide both Lodging and Upscale-casual dining. The Inn closed in 1999 and has been refurbished by new owners to once again capture the grandeur of the estates history.

Simon Cameron, founding member of the current day Republican Party, Abraham Lincolns first Secretary of War, four times United States Senator, Ambassador to Czarist Russia, and kingpin of Pennsylvanias political hierarchy, enjoyed an active public life that extended from 1820 to 1877. It was said that No politician of his generation understood the science of politics better...none enjoyed greater power; none had more success."

In his later years, Cameron developed a pride in his Scottish ancestry and showed a sentimental attachment to the area around Donegal Springs and Maytown - the site of his birth. And though he had already amassed several estates near Harrisburg prior to the Civil War, he set to work purchasing the old glebe farms surrounding the Donegal Presbyterian Church on which his grandfather and great-grandfather worked.

The elegant mansion that now serves as The Cameron Estate Inn was originally built in 1805 by Dr. John Watson, great-grandfather of President McKinley, as one of the largest homes on the Susquehanna frontier. It was purchased by Simon Cameron in 1872. Renovated and enlarged by his son James, the home was regarded with wonder and admiration by many notables of American history.

The Mansion" remained in the Cameron family for three generations. James David Cameron, who succeeded his father as Senator and served as Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant; James McCormick Cameron, grandson and president of the Camerons Dauphin Deposit Bank, and Mary Cameron, granddaughter, civic benefactor and last of the lineage, all made their contributions to the family homestead. Mary Cameron, last of the Camerons to reside in the mansion, bequeathed the house and 15 acres to Elizabethtown College upon her death in 1959. The college sold the estate in 1981 to Abe & Betty Groff, prominent Lancaster County Culinary, who created the Inn and Restaurant and operated it until 1996.

Today new proprietors are restoring this historic estate to its original splendor. Its beautifully appointed rooms for overnight guests and delightful restaurant seem untouched by the passage of time.

We invite you to travel back into time and fill your senses with the natural beauty and tranquility of one of the great estates of Pennsylvanias Lancaster County.
Come and unwind on the estates 15 acres of lawns, formal gardens and private forest, or curl up with a book on the porch on in any of our numerous nooks, perfect for reading, Fall under the spell of the restored grand 1805 Federal mansion, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Lancaster County Historic Preservation Trust Site.

Be enchanted by a stay in one of out 17 beautifully appointed guest rooms or experience the truly remarkable cuisine prepared by our outstanding culinary staff. Our 80-seat restaurant has two dining rooms to provide an up-scale casual dining experience for those in search of creative cuisine and a unique atmosphere. Whether selecting our exceptional appetizers, savory soups, inspired entrees or seductive deserts, one will find that specific combination to satiate your palate. Come and enjoy the view from the Sun Porch Dining Room or the crackling fire in the main Dining Room.

The Inn remains conveniently located to quaint villages, old world farms, back roads, antiquing, vineyards, golf and other attractions that make up the unique fabric of Lancaster County. A destination in itself, the inn is physically located midway between Harrisburg and Lancaster, Hershey and York but truly.. A Word Away.