The Historic Mount Hope Estate in Lancaster County

Back in the late 1700's and early 1800's northern Lancaster County and southern Lebanon County was hustling and bustling with iron production. The Grubb family was well-known and at the time, locally prominent. Peter Grubb purchased the Mount Hope Estate in 1779 and established an iron furnace at Mount Hope in 1784.

This estate was the center of operations of the Grubb Family during the 19th century and included over 2,500 acres, a charcoal iron furnace, a grist mill, housing for employees, plus supporting community structures: a post office, a general store, a railroad station, a school and a church. You check out our Cornwall Iron Furnace feature to learn more about that.

Peter Grubb's son, Henry Bates Grubb built the original Federal Period Mansion between 1800-1805. At the same time, the formal gardens surrounding the mansion were created including trees, flower gardens, and pillared entrances to the various stone roadways leading to the Estate. In 1895 the mansion was expanded and remodeled to include many of the Victorian features that you see today.

The 32-room mansion is constructed of locally quarried red sandstone. The entire west end of the house went through substantial changes in the 1895 remodeling. This included the construction of a striking three-story bay window rising to an octagonal turret with a patterned roof, and a two-story bay window near the southwest corner.

At the Grubb family's height in the mid-to-late 19th century, the estate included a charcoal furnace, mill workers' houses, Mount Hope Episcopal Church, the mansion, many stone outbuildings, and large formal gardens. The Mount Hope Estate was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1st, 1980.

Today the estate is well-known for their winery and cultural events that are held on the property year-round. You can learn more about the Mount Hope Winery by visiting their website and make sure you check out their schedule of events. You'll find them located at 2775 Lebanon Road, in Manheim, Pennsylvania, 17545.