Cameron Estate
Encyclopedia
The Cameron Estate was one of the five summer homes of Simon Cameron, President Lincoln's Secretary of War, and his family from 1872 to 1959. The Estate is in Lancaster County Pennsylvania and is often referred to as "Donegal".
glebe
(acreage set aside for the support of the church). The Cameron Estate was one of five summer homes of the Cameron family and was affectionately referred to as "Donegal". James Stephenson acquired the property in 1738 from the William Penn
land grant and received a patent (deed) in 1749. The land passed to James' son Nathaniel. As Nathaniel died without issue, the property passed to Nathaniel Sister Hannah (Hannah Stevenson was the great-great grandmother of President McKinley
). Ann Stephenson, Hannah’s sister, married into the Watson Family whose son David Watson, grandson of James Stephenson, was deeded the property in 1780. David Watson was a prominent patriot, and a justice of the Court of Common Pleas and his two grandsons, David C. and Nathaniel, became physician
s with large practices in Donegal
.
In 1872 Cameron bought the estate which contained the red-brick farmhouse
built in 1805. Simon Cameron and his family transformed it into one of the most magnificent estates in Lancaster County
. Behind a pair of ornamental iron
gates that once secured the Pennsylvania State Capital is what remains of the Cameron Estate (Donegal) located in rural western Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The massive entry gates to the estate once provided access to the state capital in Harrisburg
and were moved to the estate by Simon Cameron
. Two sets of gates were relocated to the estate; one positioned on Mansion Lane and the other on Colebrook Road near the intersection of Donegal Springs Road and Colebrook road. At present only the pair of gates on Mansion Lane has survived. The estate is currently a 15.25 acres (61,714.6 m²) tract of land south of Rheems
and midway between Elizabethtown
and Mount Joy, Pennsylvania (GPS coordinates 40° 6’ 11” North 76° 34’ 2” West). The estate was once the summer home of Simon Cameron, President Lincoln’s
first secretary of war and four times a United States Senator and James Donald Cameron, President U. S. Grant’s
Secretary of War. The drive through the gates meanders through the ancient towering trees to slowly reveal the impressive mansion which sits high on a knoll
facing south in a park-like setting of great ancient natural beauty.
Dr. John Watson, son of David Watson, was deeded the property in 1785. Dr. John Watson owned and resided on the Cameron's "Donegal", then called the Stephenson (sometimes spelled Stevenson) farm at Donegal Springs. Dr. John Watson built the original part of the Cameron Estate farm house in 1805. At its time of construction, the "Mansion House" was the largest brick structure on the western frontier. The 1805 structure was a two story Federal style classic four-square with a dining wing thus forming an L-shaped structure. The front porch of the farm house faced south overlooking the Donegal Presbyterian Church and Donegal Spring. The house rests on a knoll rising from Donegal creek and surrounded by ancient poplars, oaks, black walnuts, hickory and maples.
Dr. Watson owned and occupied the farm until his death, which occurred on November 16, 1843 (buried at Donegal Presbyterian Graveyard, grave No. 43). His son, Dr. Nathaniel Watson, sold the farm to the Hon. Simon Cameron in 1872.[3] Although Simon Cameron 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 had worked. At its peak, the estate comprised 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of fertile Lancaster County farm land. In addition to purchasing numerous farm
s surrounding the estate, Simon Cameron purchased the state fish hatchery
housed on Hoover’s spring one of the group Donegal springs, for $2,000 on June 12, 1883. The purchase was for 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of land, a wood framed hatchery building and the water rights to the Donegal Spring. The source of the water for the hatchery was from a spring in the basement of Michael Hoover’s house a two story red brick farmhouse. To facilitate the building of the hatchery in 1873 a stone reservoir
next to the house was built to raise the water level to assist the water feed to the hatchery. Hoover Spring originates in the basement of the red brick farmhouse behind the Cameron Estate.
The current mansion is a graceful three-story barn-red-brick mansion in the Colonial Revival
Federal style. This country residence was one of Simon Cameron’s five summer homes and occupied by his family from 1872 until 1959 when the last Cameron, Mary died. During Simon Cameron’s tenure, few changes were made to the farm house and it was not until his son James Donald Cameron (Don Cameron) acquired the house was it enlarged to its current size of over 12500 square feet (1,161.3 m²).
It is purported that Don Cameron’s first wife was not pleased with the house as it was not grand enough for here liking and stature. Don Cameron set out to transform the house and in 1889 removed the roof and added the third floor and expanded its footprint northward. While the fashion of the time was to add mansard roof
s, Don Cameron kept the Federal style but unified the house with Colonial Revival embellishments. Of particular note is the addition of the stylized “Pennsylvania Keystone” above the windows on the West side of the mansion. The last expansion was completed in 1914. While the grandeur of the house was enhanced, the smell from the barn on the west side of the house was found to be most offensive to Don’s wife, and therefore the barn was dismantled and moved to another part of the farm. The barnyard yard was then filled in and a rose garden
planted.
“Donegal” was a working farm with the major crops being tobacco
and watercress
. In addition to crops J. Don Cameron bred award winning Trotting Horses, Thoroughbreds and Welsh ponies for show and racing. Don Cameron was so fond of horses he planted 100 acre (0.404686 km²) in blue grass to breed his Thoroughbreds.
The estate currently has five remaining buildings, underground armory, and an impressive water tower
. The buildings still present are the main house, summer kitchen, carriage barn, tool shed and pump house. An old drawing of the estate shows several other buildings whose remains can be seen during the summer when the foundations heat up and burn through the grass.
The main house was built in 1805 and expanded over the many years to its current size of approximately 12500 square feet (1,161.3 m²). The house was a private residence until Mary Cameron’s estate bequeathed 15.25 acres (61,714.6 m²) of the property to Elizabethtown College
in 1961. The college used the property for many purposes. It served as a dormitory
for men on the Dean's List
and a school for special needs children. In 1975 Mrs. G. Howland Chase, a great granddaughter of Simon Cameron funded a restoration of the mansion which Elizabethtown College uses it as a conference center with lodging in the mansion. The mansion was converted into a country inn in 1981 by Lancaster County culinary celebrity Betty Groff along with her husband Abe. The Groff's sold the inn in 1996.
The summer kitchen sits 15 feet (4.6 m) north of the mansion. The wood frame structure with a slate was expanded to include an office and converted to owner’s quarters in the 1980s.
The carriage house located 100 yards from the mansion once house Mary Cameron’s Packard car collection and in the attic was the chauffeur
’s residence. The carriage house was converted to a conference center in the 1975 restoration. In 2002 the carriage house was renovated and is now the wedding reception
venue capable of seating 250 guests.
The tool shed, 18 by 35 feet was just west of the carriage barn and was incorporated into the Carriage barn.
A very unique pump house for its time sits across the creek north east of the mansion. When the 10 ft by 10 ft building was built in 1889, it was constructed in a new experimental technique, poured-in-place concrete. The window sills and corbel
s are of stone and the floor, walls and flat roof are all poured-in-place concrete. The pump house sits atop a seep cistern where a gas fired piston pump
transported the water to a massive water tower located on the ridge above the property. The water then gravity fed back to the house as its water supply.
Just north of the summer kitchen is what appears to be a root cellar with a concrete door frame. While this structure was thought to be a root cellar, this underground structure was an armory built by James Donald Cameron while he was Secretary of War under U. S. Grant. Cameron Estate was Headquarter for Don Cameron when he was in Pennsylvania and while he hosted U. S. Grant. Since they both frequented the property, an armory was needed to store munitions for the troops protecting the President. The entrance faces north toward the creek with a roof height of 3 to 4 feet. Upon Mary Cameron's death in 1959, the "Cameron Estate" was dissolved and sold as 9 separate farms.
, oak
and maple
, spring gardens of irises, peonies and bleeding hearts and a walled rose garden. An old stone bridge arches over a meandering stream that bisects the 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) estate.
The mansion became an Inn in 1981 and the current owners have delivered a style to the Inn reminiscent of the grandeur demanded by Simon Cameron himself. Though the Inn is filled with antiques from the 1800s, one experiences a relaxed calm and welcoming atmosphere at the inn.
James Donald Cameron, who expanded the mansion to its present scale, succeeded his father as Senator and served as Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant; James McCormick Cameron, grandson and president of the Cameron's Dauphin Deposit Bank; and Mary Cameron, granddaughter, civic benefactor and last of the clan, all made their contributions to the family homestead. No major exterior alterations have been made since 1918.
Visitors at the Cameron Estate Inn may wander the beautifully landscaped grounds of the Inn and those of the historic Donegal Scottish Presbyterian Church. Outside the gates, one can saunter along an avenue of towering maple
s planted by Cameron, who got wind of the imminent passage of a bill encouraging farmers to beautify the roads by offering $2 for each tree planted. He proceeded to plant thousands on the roads leading to Donegal, only to find the new law stipulated that the trees had to be inside one's fences.
James Donald Cameron, the eldest son of Simon Cameron and U. S. Grant’s Secretary of War, died at Donegal on August 30, 1918.
History
The Cameron Estate started out as a 314 acres (1.3 km²) tract of land north of and adjoining the Donegal Presbyterian ChurchDonegal Presbyterian Church Complex
Donegal Presbyterian Church Complex is a historic church on Donegal Springs Road in East Donegal Township, Pennsylvania.It was built in 1732 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985....
glebe
Glebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
(acreage set aside for the support of the church). The Cameron Estate was one of five summer homes of the Cameron family and was affectionately referred to as "Donegal". James Stephenson acquired the property in 1738 from the William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
land grant and received a patent (deed) in 1749. The land passed to James' son Nathaniel. As Nathaniel died without issue, the property passed to Nathaniel Sister Hannah (Hannah Stevenson was the great-great grandmother of President McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
). Ann Stephenson, Hannah’s sister, married into the Watson Family whose son David Watson, grandson of James Stephenson, was deeded the property in 1780. David Watson was a prominent patriot, and a justice of the Court of Common Pleas and his two grandsons, David C. and Nathaniel, became physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s with large practices in Donegal
Donegal, Pennsylvania
Donegal is a borough in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a distinct municipality from the adjacent Donegal Township. The population was 165 at the 2000 census...
.
In 1872 Cameron bought the estate which contained the red-brick farmhouse
Farmhouse
Farmhouse is a general term for the main house of a farm. It is a type of building or house which serves a residential purpose in a rural or agricultural setting. Most often, the surrounding environment will be a farm. Many farm houses are shaped like a T...
built in 1805. Simon Cameron and his family transformed it into one of the most magnificent estates in Lancaster County
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...
. Behind a pair of ornamental iron
Ornamental iron
-External links:**...
gates that once secured the Pennsylvania State Capital is what remains of the Cameron Estate (Donegal) located in rural western Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The massive entry gates to the estate once provided access to the state capital in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
and were moved to the estate by Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron
Simon Cameron was an American politician who served as United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War. After making his fortune in railways and banking, he turned to a life of politics. He became a U.S. senator in 1845 for the state of Pennsylvania,...
. Two sets of gates were relocated to the estate; one positioned on Mansion Lane and the other on Colebrook Road near the intersection of Donegal Springs Road and Colebrook road. At present only the pair of gates on Mansion Lane has survived. The estate is currently a 15.25 acres (61,714.6 m²) tract of land south of Rheems
Rheems, Pennsylvania
Rheems is a census-designated place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States situated between the boroughs of Elizabethtown and Mount Joy...
and midway between Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Elizabethtown is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Harrisburg. Small factories existed at the turn of the century when the population in 1900 was 1,861. There was a slight increase in the next decade, with 1,970 people living in Elizabethtown in 1910. As of the 2000 census,...
and Mount Joy, Pennsylvania (GPS coordinates 40° 6’ 11” North 76° 34’ 2” West). The estate was once the summer home of Simon Cameron, President Lincoln’s
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
first secretary of war and four times a United States Senator and James Donald Cameron, President U. S. Grant’s
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
Secretary of War. The drive through the gates meanders through the ancient towering trees to slowly reveal the impressive mansion which sits high on a knoll
Hillock
A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one...
facing south in a park-like setting of great ancient natural beauty.
Dr. John Watson, son of David Watson, was deeded the property in 1785. Dr. John Watson owned and resided on the Cameron's "Donegal", then called the Stephenson (sometimes spelled Stevenson) farm at Donegal Springs. Dr. John Watson built the original part of the Cameron Estate farm house in 1805. At its time of construction, the "Mansion House" was the largest brick structure on the western frontier. The 1805 structure was a two story Federal style classic four-square with a dining wing thus forming an L-shaped structure. The front porch of the farm house faced south overlooking the Donegal Presbyterian Church and Donegal Spring. The house rests on a knoll rising from Donegal creek and surrounded by ancient poplars, oaks, black walnuts, hickory and maples.
Dr. Watson owned and occupied the farm until his death, which occurred on November 16, 1843 (buried at Donegal Presbyterian Graveyard, grave No. 43). His son, Dr. Nathaniel Watson, sold the farm to the Hon. Simon Cameron in 1872.[3] Although Simon Cameron had already amassed several estates near Harrisburg prior to the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he set to work purchasing the old glebe farms surrounding the Donegal Presbyterian Church on which his grandfather and great-grandfather had worked. At its peak, the estate comprised 1200 acres (4.9 km²) of fertile Lancaster County farm land. In addition to purchasing numerous farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
s surrounding the estate, Simon Cameron purchased the state fish hatchery
Fish hatchery
A fish hatchery is a "place for artificial breeding, hatching and rearing through the early life stages of animals, finfish and shellfish in particular". Hatcheries produce larval and juvenile fish primarily to support the aquaculture industry where they are transferred to on-growing systems...
housed on Hoover’s spring one of the group Donegal springs, for $2,000 on June 12, 1883. The purchase was for 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of land, a wood framed hatchery building and the water rights to the Donegal Spring. The source of the water for the hatchery was from a spring in the basement of Michael Hoover’s house a two story red brick farmhouse. To facilitate the building of the hatchery in 1873 a stone reservoir
Reservoir
A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...
next to the house was built to raise the water level to assist the water feed to the hatchery. Hoover Spring originates in the basement of the red brick farmhouse behind the Cameron Estate.
The current mansion is a graceful three-story barn-red-brick mansion in the Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
Federal style. This country residence was one of Simon Cameron’s five summer homes and occupied by his family from 1872 until 1959 when the last Cameron, Mary died. During Simon Cameron’s tenure, few changes were made to the farm house and it was not until his son James Donald Cameron (Don Cameron) acquired the house was it enlarged to its current size of over 12500 square feet (1,161.3 m²).
It is purported that Don Cameron’s first wife was not pleased with the house as it was not grand enough for here liking and stature. Don Cameron set out to transform the house and in 1889 removed the roof and added the third floor and expanded its footprint northward. While the fashion of the time was to add mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
s, Don Cameron kept the Federal style but unified the house with Colonial Revival embellishments. Of particular note is the addition of the stylized “Pennsylvania Keystone” above the windows on the West side of the mansion. The last expansion was completed in 1914. While the grandeur of the house was enhanced, the smell from the barn on the west side of the house was found to be most offensive to Don’s wife, and therefore the barn was dismantled and moved to another part of the farm. The barnyard yard was then filled in and a rose garden
Rose garden
A Rose garden or Rosarium is a garden or park, often open to the public, used to present and grow various types of garden roses. Designs vary tremendously and roses may be displayed alongside other plants or grouped by individual variety, colour or class in rose beds.-Origins of the rose...
planted.
“Donegal” was a working farm with the major crops being tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and watercress
Watercress
Watercresses are fast-growing, aquatic or semi-aquatic, perennial plants native from Europe to central Asia, and one of the oldest known leaf vegetables consumed by human beings...
. In addition to crops J. Don Cameron bred award winning Trotting Horses, Thoroughbreds and Welsh ponies for show and racing. Don Cameron was so fond of horses he planted 100 acre (0.404686 km²) in blue grass to breed his Thoroughbreds.
The estate currently has five remaining buildings, underground armory, and an impressive water tower
Water tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
. The buildings still present are the main house, summer kitchen, carriage barn, tool shed and pump house. An old drawing of the estate shows several other buildings whose remains can be seen during the summer when the foundations heat up and burn through the grass.
The main house was built in 1805 and expanded over the many years to its current size of approximately 12500 square feet (1,161.3 m²). The house was a private residence until Mary Cameron’s estate bequeathed 15.25 acres (61,714.6 m²) of the property to Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
in 1961. The college used the property for many purposes. It served as a dormitory
Dormitory
A dormitory, often shortened to dorm, in the United States is a residence hall consisting of sleeping quarters or entire buildings primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people, often boarding school, college or university students...
for men on the Dean's List
Dean's List
A Dean's List is a category of students in a college or university who achieve high grades during their stay in an academic term or academic year. In secondary schools, or high schools, the term Consistent Honor List or Honor Roll is more common, but Dean's List and Consistent Honor List are...
and a school for special needs children. In 1975 Mrs. G. Howland Chase, a great granddaughter of Simon Cameron funded a restoration of the mansion which Elizabethtown College uses it as a conference center with lodging in the mansion. The mansion was converted into a country inn in 1981 by Lancaster County culinary celebrity Betty Groff along with her husband Abe. The Groff's sold the inn in 1996.
The summer kitchen sits 15 feet (4.6 m) north of the mansion. The wood frame structure with a slate was expanded to include an office and converted to owner’s quarters in the 1980s.
The carriage house located 100 yards from the mansion once house Mary Cameron’s Packard car collection and in the attic was the chauffeur
Chauffeur
A chauffeur is a person employed to drive a passenger motor vehicle, especially a luxury vehicle such as a large sedan or limousine.Originally such drivers were always personal servants of the vehicle owner, but now in many cases specialist chauffeur service companies, or individual drivers provide...
’s residence. The carriage house was converted to a conference center in the 1975 restoration. In 2002 the carriage house was renovated and is now the wedding reception
Wedding reception
A wedding reception is a party held after the completion of a marriage ceremony. It is held usually as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receives society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts...
venue capable of seating 250 guests.
The tool shed, 18 by 35 feet was just west of the carriage barn and was incorporated into the Carriage barn.
A very unique pump house for its time sits across the creek north east of the mansion. When the 10 ft by 10 ft building was built in 1889, it was constructed in a new experimental technique, poured-in-place concrete. The window sills and corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s are of stone and the floor, walls and flat roof are all poured-in-place concrete. The pump house sits atop a seep cistern where a gas fired piston pump
Piston pump
A piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump where the high-pressure seal reciprocates with the piston. Piston pumps can be used to move liquids or compress gases.-Types:* Axial piston pump* Radial piston pump...
transported the water to a massive water tower located on the ridge above the property. The water then gravity fed back to the house as its water supply.
Just north of the summer kitchen is what appears to be a root cellar with a concrete door frame. While this structure was thought to be a root cellar, this underground structure was an armory built by James Donald Cameron while he was Secretary of War under U. S. Grant. Cameron Estate was Headquarter for Don Cameron when he was in Pennsylvania and while he hosted U. S. Grant. Since they both frequented the property, an armory was needed to store munitions for the troops protecting the President. The entrance faces north toward the creek with a roof height of 3 to 4 feet. Upon Mary Cameron's death in 1959, the "Cameron Estate" was dissolved and sold as 9 separate farms.
The Current State of the Estate
Today his home has been transformed into the Cameron Estate Inn, which presents a world of perfect solitude with its giant shade trees of hemlockHemlock
The word hemlock may refer to:*Hemlock, several poisonous plants in the Apiaceae family :**Hemlock , two species, one formerly used as a method of execution**Water Hemlock...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
, spring gardens of irises, peonies and bleeding hearts and a walled rose garden. An old stone bridge arches over a meandering stream that bisects the 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) estate.
The mansion became an Inn in 1981 and the current owners have delivered a style to the Inn reminiscent of the grandeur demanded by Simon Cameron himself. Though the Inn is filled with antiques from the 1800s, one experiences a relaxed calm and welcoming atmosphere at the inn.
James Donald Cameron, who expanded the mansion to its present scale, succeeded his father as Senator and served as Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant; James McCormick Cameron, grandson and president of the Cameron's Dauphin Deposit Bank; and Mary Cameron, granddaughter, civic benefactor and last of the clan, all made their contributions to the family homestead. No major exterior alterations have been made since 1918.
Visitors at the Cameron Estate Inn may wander the beautifully landscaped grounds of the Inn and those of the historic Donegal Scottish Presbyterian Church. Outside the gates, one can saunter along an avenue of towering maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
s planted by Cameron, who got wind of the imminent passage of a bill encouraging farmers to beautify the roads by offering $2 for each tree planted. He proceeded to plant thousands on the roads leading to Donegal, only to find the new law stipulated that the trees had to be inside one's fences.
James Donald Cameron, the eldest son of Simon Cameron and U. S. Grant’s Secretary of War, died at Donegal on August 30, 1918.