The Hotel Shikellimy - 1891-1898

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The Hotel Shikellimy, Built in 1891, was located at the site of what is today Shikellamy State Park

"Then came the brief but glamorous area of the Hotel Shikellamy, destroyed by fire in 1898, only seven years after it was constructed.  The ornate three-story resort hotel with some 80 bedrooms, plus numerous parlors, billiard rooms, and even a bowling alley, was surrounded by a terraced lawn, tennis and croquet courts, and an outdoor dance pavilion. "

 On May 4, 1898, as the hotel was being prepared to open for the summer, a tragic fire erupted on the first floor. The resort was completely leveled before firefighters made their way to the site. Hundreds of spectators watched the disastrous blaze from rooftops and the river bank in Sunbury. 

"On Wednesday afternoon about half past two o'clock the attention of our people was directed to a small blaze seemingly creeping from the porch of Hotel Shikellimy on Blue Hill directly opposite our town.

 It took but a few moments for the blaze, to increase soon becoming brighter and brighter and very soon convincing all that the beautiful hotel was doomed. The sight was a grand one although filling the hearts of everyone who witnessed the conflagration with regret that one of the principal points of interest for the locality was to be a thing of the past. The falling of timbers, sizzling of the fire and the snapping of the flames was distinctly heard in our town as the work of destruction went on.

 The hotel was furnished containing among other valuables a handsome Grand piano. Nothing was saved. The only persons near at the time the fire broke out were Mrs. Edward Drumheller, Gardener Richards and C. M. Slear. The hotel was to have been opened this season and arrangements had been perfected with several  large associations to hold their conventions at Shikellimy this summer. 

Dwight L. Moody, the great evangelist was to have been a guest and speaker at one of these meetings. The hotel was a handsome structure and cost its owners, Messrs Drumheller, of Sunbury about thirty thousand dollars. The entire loss furniture and all is estimated at fifty thousand. The insurance being but nineteen thousand. 

The venture never proved a success financially for the manner of getting to the hotel was too slow for these days of rapid transit and for several years the proprietors had not been opening it except for the accommodation of conventions.

Brochure advertising the Hotel

 The origin of the fire is a mystery. When discovered it was found to be burning in a corner back of the safe

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The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the fire had been arson.  "as some cotton saturated cloth with oil was found in the cellar, in to which it had been thrown through a broken window."

All of the hotel’s outbuildings, including the ice house and the woods which surrounded the structure, caught fire as well. The structure was insured for just $19,000 and was never rebuilt. The ruins remained for decades.   In August of 1956, the Daily Item reported "destroyed by fire May 4 1898, the ruins of the hotel remained until several years ago."

Some of the ruins remained into the early 1970's.

Norman Sprenkle of Selinsgrove, in 1971,  with the bell from the old hotel.  Sprenkle had dug the bell up at the site of the hotel.

The Hotel Shikellimy

Riding on the coattails of the fame and glory the City Hotel gained after Thomas Edison’s successful electrical experiment in 1883, the owners, the enterprising Drumheller brothers, decided to build another hotel a few years later. They designed their next venture to serve a more pleasure-oriented clientele than the business travelers who stayed at their hotel in the heart of Sunbury.

The brothers purchased 40 acres on top the hill and the impressive three-story frame building was begun during the summer of 1890. The construction attracted many visitors to the site as the building progressed. By December, the shell of the building was completed and the well had been dug.

"The impressive three-story frame structure, with its gabled roofs from which flew three American flags, stood on a 40 acre plot within a few yards of the precipice."

. The hotel commanded a fine view from the bluff at the junction of the North and West branches of our beautiful Susquehanna river and the scenery from this point was grand and picturesque. The building was built and completed by the present owners in 1891."

On the south side of the building was a veranda ranging in width from six to fifteen feet, overlooking a terraced lawn ornaments with shrubs and flowers. There were tennis courts, croquet grounds, and a 65 by 35 foot outdoor dancing pavilion located in a native grove.

The main outlook on top of the building, which was in the shape of an octagon, was a popular spot for tourists.  From here guests, which included the fashionable from all over the country, could enjoy the panoramic view afforded from the top of the hill.

 From that spot five hundred feet above the river, they could view Sunbury, Northumberland, Selinsgrove, Danville, Lewisburg, and Milton.  They could walk along the three wide rotundas or sit in the elegantly furnished parlors with gave and unbroken view.

Within the 145 by 125 foot building were gentleman's sitting, smoking, and writing rooms, a ladies reception room, billiard room, bowling alley, and a huge dining room.

The rooms were neatly furnished and the cuisine was especially outstanding.  The brothers hired a skilled and experienced chef to prepare fine cuisine for guests and the many parties and banquets held at the resort. 

From the hotel, mail could be dispatched at midnight and reach Philadelphia or New York early the next day, a convenience extended by few mountain summer resorts in that day. The Reading railroad operated a line to the base of Blue Hill, which was then known as Susquehanna Heights.    As many as 40 passenger trains a day passed through this area.

"Here arrived the fashionable mustachioed gentleman, and delicate ladies with long sweeping skirts and parasols, to spend relaxing summers in the rustic beauty of the Susquehanna Valley."

 The resort cost about $50,000 to build and furnish. Guest rooms flanked wide hallways and, interestingly, gas lights rather than electric, lighted the entire structure.

"Marketed as a summer resort by the Drumheller brothers, the hotel, which was located about 500 feet above the Susquehanna’s waters, opened in 1891. Guests came by steamboat and railroad to relax and enjoy the splendid view. It quickly became a popular spot attracting tourists from outside the area. At the time, summer vacationers usually visited water attractions or the mountains, and the Hotel Shikellimy offered both. The view lured many fashionably attired gentlemen and their ladies with Gibson girl hairstyles and long, sweeping skirts to the hotel. It also served as the site of many reunions, business functions and annual meetings for various local organizations."

A photograph of the men of the State Millers' Association on the steps of Hotel Shikellimy in 1893.

Another photo from the 1893 Milllers Convention

On September 15th 1893, the Miltonian reported: "Hotel Shikellamy closed its doors after a very successful season on Thursday of this week.  The encampment of the 12th Regt. on the hill made known it's beauties and comforts to many hitherto strangers."

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Silverware From The Hotel Shikellimy

"Snyder County Formed March 2, 1855, named for Hon. Simon Snyder, Governor of Pennsylvania, 1808-17; three terms; noted as the first governor to urge legislation for free public schools; he was the great war governor of 1812; served in the Assembly from 1789-1808, and was speaker of the House from 1802-08; he lived at Selinsgrove. From end of Northumberland Bridge, built by Theodore Burr in 1814, on West Branch of the Susquehanna; the road leading south to Selinsgrove passes Blue Hill, noted for beautiful scenery. On top was formerly Hotel Shikellimy, burned in 1895; on one of the rocks overhanging is a natural profile named for Shikellimy, who sauntered about here. Farther on is a single arch stone bridge; for half a mile, beginning at this bridge, is a state road built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Governor Pennypacker handled the first shovel of dirt in 1904; it was laid out first by James F. Linn in 1829, has since been extended."

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