The contents of the Conewago Manor Inn will be sold
Sep 23rd, 2010 | By Todd Hess | Category: News20-September-2010 – (ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa.) – The contents of the Conewago Manor Inn – an historic structure dating back to an original 1742 grant from the William Penn family, founders of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – will be sold without reserve (everything goes, regardless of price) in an on-site auction slated for Saturday, Oct. 23, at the Inn itself in Elizabethtown, Pa.
Elizabethtown is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, just off Route 283, about midway between Harrisburg and Lancaster.
The auction will be conducted by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery, based in Pittsfield, Mass. Over 500 lots of fine antiques and accessories will be offered, with online bidding facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, Proxibid.com and the Fontaine’s website (FontainesAuction.net). Phone and absentee bids will also be taken. The Inn is located at 2048 Zeager Road in Elizabethtown.
“It is difficult to fully appreciate the majesty and history of the Conewago Manor Inn,” said John Fontaine of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “It has stood, weathering the passage of time, as it witnessed the birth of a nation and its struggles and triumphs, not far from both Philadelphia and Gettysburg. Iron from nearby forges may have been used to fight the American Revolution.”
The original survey of the property is dated June 1, 1739. Then known as the Conewago Manor Farm, it served as the residence for Samuel Smith, a local miller and Indian trader who received the original warranted deed from the William Penn family, in 1742. Over the years, it has been used as a United States Post Office, a railway ticket office and an inn (its usage today).
The Inn’s current owners – Keith and Laura Murphy – spent nearly seven years lovingly restoring the facility to its original glory. It’s been featured twice on Home & Garden Television and has been detailed in Woman’s Day Magazine and other media. And now, the contents of the Inn, much of it consistent with the period of the structure itself, will be sold at absolute auction.
The auction will begin promptly at 10 a.m. and will be followed by an unreserved discovery auction. Previews for the main auction will be held on Thursday, Oct. 21, from 10-4; Friday, Oct. 22, from 10-4; and Saturday, Oct. 23, the date of auction, from 8-10 a.m.
