Homestead Hotel, Newberry Pa

 

The Homestead Hotel was located at the corner of Newberry Street and Dewey Avenue.
Today, it's the Newberry Sub Shop

THE OLD HOMESTEAD HOTEL

By C. Lee Berry

1936

The photograph above shows the Old Homestead Hotel when it was one of Newberry's leading hostelries. The hotel was built about 1800, and the western portion of the building is still standing. The structure is located at the northwest corner of Newberry Street and Dewey Avenue.

After the hotel had been in operation about 100 years, the bar-room was moved from the west end of the building to a storeroom adjacent on the east. The move wo3 made by Dick DeMott, one of the Old Homestead's many proprietors.

The store-room, which, which was brick construction and was separated from the rest of the building, was occupied as a general store by Lindsay (Deacon) Mahaffey, James McClintock and Ales Clements. Caldwell and Rankin operated the store as early as 1830. In those days nearly every general store sold whiskey, and I have several bills issued to the Caldwell and Rankim firm for pure rye whiskey at 33 cents a gallon.

The Old Homestead Hotel was a prominent trading post in the early days. A large log barn was maintained east of the tavern, where many horse sales were held. At the completion of the Fall Brook railroad in 1883, all the horses, mules, and wagons used in building the rail-road were sold at the Old Homestead by Rile and Malone, the contractors.

Some of the former proprietors at the Old Homestead were Mr. Auron, John Porter, Abe Waltz, A.B. Kast, Clell Weliver, Connell Brothers, Jim Hafer, Bruce Kurtz, Tom Danehart, Dick DeMot and Howard Kramer.

With the advent of Prohibition the hotel building was converted into an apartment house. January 19, 1922, the east of the end building, together with the old store, was wiped out by fire. The burned portion was replaced by a modern brick structure which is now occupied by the Williamsport Radio Club.

The western portion fronting on Newberry Street looks now much as it has for many years, except That the hitching rail and old log pump and watering trough are no longer present. 

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The Williamsport Radio Club

The building was home to the Williamsport Radio Club from 1936 into the mid 1960s.

Inside the Williamsport Radio Club

Inside the Williamsport Radio Club

January 1929

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"The funeral of Elias Kramer will take place from his residence at the Homestead Hotel, Newberry"  June 1917

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Jones buys the Old Homestead Hotel in 1919 at 2000 Newberry Street.