Last updated: 6/7/2016
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Address
219 South Front StreetHarrisburg, PA 17104

Hours

Mansion Tours
Tours at 1, 2, 3 p.m.
Tuesday - Friday
1 PM - 4 PM
Mansion Tours Saturday
Saturday Tours at 11 a.m., 1, 2, 3, p.m.
Saturday
11 AM - 4 PM
Mansion Tours Sundays
Second and Fourth Sundays Tours 1, 2, 3 p.m
Research Library
Tuesday - Friday
1 PM - 4 PM
Also open on the Second and Fourth Sundays 1 - 4 pm

Admissions

Separate fee for research library (for non-members).

Adults: $8
Seniors: $7
Children (6-12): $6
Children under 5: Free

Staff

Description

The Harris-Cameron Mansion was home to the city's founder, John Harris, Jr. and his sons from 1766 to 1835.

Between 1853 and 1861, it was owned by the Rev. Beverly Waugh who, with his wife, opened the Pennsylvania Female College in the mansion.

In 1863, the house was bought by U.S. Senator Simon Cameron, who later became Abraham Lincoln's first Secretary of War and Ambassador to Russia. Cameron set about turning the Georgian house into a Victorian mansion in the Italianate style. It is this house that visitors see today, along with some later additions.

Among the outstanding features is a grand parlor with double fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, and mirrors brought back from Europe by Cameron. Seen elsewhere in the house are a tall case clock and chairs belonging to Harris, personal items used by Cameron, and a high-style Art Deco bathroom and secret liquor cabinet added by later owners. The house became the headquarters of the Historical Society of Dauphin County in 1941.

Mission

The mission of the Historical Society of Dauphin County is to collect, preserve, exhibit, publish, and promote interest in the history of Dauphin County for the education, enjoyment, and benefit of the public.

History

Constructed c. 1766 by John Harris, Jr., son of the pioneer frontier trader and ferry operator John Harris, the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion was occupied in the second half of the 19th century by Simon Cameron, entrepreneur, banker, U.S. Senator, Lincoln's first Secretary of War and later Minister to Russia.

Harris, Sr., an English brewer, was an associate of the Penn family and received a land grant as an inducement to come here. The Penns wanted Harris to establish good relations with the local natives and to facilitate the settlement of the central and western portions of the Penn's colony. John Harris, Jr. was born at Harris Ferry in 1727, and after his father's death in 1748, Harris continued in his father's occupations and found favor with local Native Americans as "an honest man very well-known to our Nation, as was his father before him." Harris and his associates were responsible for laying out in 1785 what was to become present-day Harrisburg.

Built of local grey limestone, the house was constructed in a simple Georgian-style plan of four rooms downstairs and four upstairs. This original layout was altered sometime in the first half of the 19th century by his sons or subsequent owners with the addition of a large new dining room and kitchen and bedrooms. When Simon Cameron bought the house in 1863, he transformed it into a Victorian-style showplace and furnished it with furniture, mantles, stained glass and mirrors purchased in France, Italy, and Bavaria while in route to Russia.

The house was home to several notable Harrisburg citizens. Harris, Jr.'s sons David and Robert lived there until 1835, when Robert sold it to Thomas Elder, a prominent lawyer, state Attorney General, organizer of the Harrisburg Bridge Company, and president of the Harrisburg Bank.

Upon Elder's death in 1853, the house was sold to the Rev. Beverly Waugh, who with his wife Sarah turned the house into the Pennsylvania Female College, a school for young ladies. Perhaps because of the social turmoil of the beginning of the Civil War and the death of the Rev. Waugh, the school closed in 1861.

Simon Cameron, a member of the board of directors of the school, purchased the building in 1863. Cameron was born into a poor family in Lancaster County in 1799. Through hard work, shrewd investments, and some said, unethical business practices, he had accumulated a considerable fortune by 1862.

After finalizing the purchase of the house, Cameron set out to convert it to a grand Victorian mansion. He created a large parlor from two smaller rooms and added an alcove for more light, a solarium, walkway, butler's pantry, and grand staircase. He also had the floors in the front section of the house lowered three feet into the basement because the 11-foot ceilings in the parlor could not accommodate his new 14-foot mirrors. Cameron divided his time between the mansion and his home in Donegal, Lancaster County, until his death in 1889.

The house passed to Cameron's daughter, Margaretta, widow of Richard Haldeman, a local newspaper publisher and Congressman. With her passing in 1915, the house was inherited by her son, Richard, who was president of the Harrisburg Bridge Company. Haldeman redecorated, modernized, and made the last addition to the house, the West Alcove, with its spectacular Art Deco bathroom. He was the last of the Cameron family to live at the mansion, dying in 1933. His sister Elizabeth Wright donated the house and other family items to the Historical Society in 1941.

The mansion, located on Harrisburg's riverfront at 219 South Front Street, stands today much as it did in Cameron's day. It is furnished with pieces from both the Harris and Cameron families, as well as furniture, books and decorative items from Dauphin County collected and donated over the intervening years. While administering the Harris-Cameron Mansion, the Historical Society of Dauphin County also maintains an archives of historic documents and a research library open to the public.

The exterior of the mansion has recently undergone a major restoration, the first in nearly 30 years. Plans during the 2016 anniversary year include work in establishing an appropriate landscape plan for the gardens, restoration of garden walls, iron fences and gates, and restoration work on the interior, including the 19th century French wallpaper in Cameron's solarium.

Artifact Collections

Furnishing of 18th-20th centuries reflect occupancy of house;

decorative arts;
Native American;
china and glass;
county history.
Research Collections
LIBRARY

Church records (including baptisms, marriages and death records) for many Dauphin County churches, ranging back into the 1700's in some instances.
Card file of newspaper clippings taken from local newspapers from the late 1700's to the late 1800's of weddings, deaths, etc. These have been copied onto index cards and alphabetized for the researcher's convenience.
Genealogical folders, by surname and cross-referenced to related families that have been donated by researchers to help others.
Card file of Dauphin County Births from 1893 to 1906.
Card file of Dauphin County Deaths from 1893 to 1906.
Cemetery inventories from (many) various Dauphin County cemeteries. Pennsylvania Archives - a complete set.
Civil War, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers by Bates (5 volumes). Civil War, regimental units (various).
Revolutionary War, Pictorial Field Book, B. J. Lossing.
Spanish-American War, Pennsylvania Volunteers.
World War I, 28th Division, Col. Edward Martin (5 volumes).
Dauphin County histories including biographical data published by Kelker, Egle, Donehoo and Rupp.
Some Sanford's maps of Harrisburg. Various published genealogies of county families. Dauphin County Histories published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Miscellaneous file folders of newspaper clippings, etc., on many topics. Local History books from many Dauphin County communities.
Books on covered bridges, railroads, canals, etc.
Will Book Extracts 1785 - 1827. Orphan's Court Extracts 1785-1817. Pennsylvania Colonial Records - complete set. Harrisburg City Directories from 1839 to 1999. Some early published church records, wills, and orphans' court records for Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon Counties.
Facilities

A large 18th/19th century stone house with 10 public rooms on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Large parlor in exuberant Victorian style. Gardens reflecting the Victorian era. Research library in renovated 19th century stable. Early 20th century carriage house. Parking on site and in adjacent lots.

Performance Areas
Governance

Board of Trustees since 1869.

Historical Society of Dauphin County (PA)

Library
ARCHIVES

Our archives has approximately 900 manuscript groups with deeds dating back to the 1700s. The archives contains collections of historical records and photographs of individuals and families, businesses, agencies, organizations, institutions, schools, churches, military units, and other entities located in Dauphin County. Records include letters, diaries, manuscripts, legal documents, deeds, certificates, invoices and receipts, account ledgers, scrapbooks, yearbooks, newspaper clippings, invitations, maps, and many other types of materials collected through the years. Many of the items are original documents.

PHOTOS

Our archival collections consist of over one million images of Dauphin County from the 1850's to the present. Prominent national and Pennsylvania political photos, historical images of buildings and landmarks, street scenes, people and events are included. Individuals and businesses have used our photos in publications, annual reports, promotional and marketing materials, wall hangings and other attractive ways.

Access:
Appointment required: No
Publications
"The Oracle," a quarterly newsletter.
Annual Report after June 30.
Services
Guided Tours - see our hourly schedule

Guided tours with tea or luncheon available.

Classical Rental in Harrisburg

Rentals for meetings, parties, musical performances, receptions, weddings. We can accommodate approximately 100 people for a reception or stand-up gathering, 90 for a served sit-down affair with seating in two separate rooms, and 60 for a buffet sit-down affair or if all guests will be seated in the same room. We can put you in touch with several area caterers if you need help finding one.

Visit our photo site at amansionaffair.shutterfly.com to see a comprehensive collection of photos of the house and grounds to help you envision your affair at the John Harris-Simon Cameron Mansion.

Research in our Library

Off-site research available through library.

Gift Shop
Online Gift Shop
Special Event Rental
Restaurant
Group Tours
ADA
Limited Access

Second floor is not wheelchair accessible. A portion of the first floor has four steps.

Restrooms
Exhibitions
Museum Events
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