John Harris-simon Cameron Mansion
Harrisburg, PA, 17104 US / PA
Location Description
English settler, trader, and ferry owner John Harris constructed the mansion on the banks of the Susquehanna River c. 1766, and by the early 1800s a rear wing was added by subsequent owners. The mansion was acquired by Pennsylvania politician and Lincoln's first Secretary of War Simon Cameron in 1863, and he soon undertook a conversion of the home into a Victorian mansion of Italianate design. A solarium, butler's pantry and grand staircase were added; floors were lowered to accommodate the addition of elegant 14 foot French mirrors. The last of the Cameron family to reside in the mansion died in 1933, and it was donated to the Historical Society in 1941. The mansion boasts a small but attractive garden and river views. It was designated a National Historical Landmark in 1975. (Source: Historical Society of Dauphin County)
Location Category
- HOUSES - [general]
- HOUSES - Mansions / Estates
- HOUSES - Period Homes / Historic
- MUSEUMS / EXHIBITS - [general]
Architecture Style
- 1800s / Civil War
- Colonial
- Italianate
- Victorian
