Robert H. Coleman, iron magnate and once the richest man in Pennsylvania, was largely responsible for the development of Mount Gretna.
The lovely spot was once inhabited only by Native Americans and a few solitary coke burners, one of whom was called “governor Dick”.
Selected as a stop on the Cornwall- Lebanon railway that proceeded to Elizabethtown, Mount Gretna grew through Coleman’s development of a recreational park, first electrified by a generator driven by a railroad steam engine.
The area grew rapidly through successive bequests by Coleman to the United Brethren Camp Meeting, the Pennsylvania Chautauqua Association, the Pennsylvania National Guard, and from his damming of the Conewago Creek to form Lake Conewago.
I spent many idyllic summer afternoons at the lake, and still thrill at the sight of the swings and diving platform.
This postcard, featuring a hand-colored photograph of the Railroad Station, was mailed from Mount Gretna on August 3, 1927.
Addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Rohrer Leaman of Ronks, the address seems to have been corrected by a postal worker, although a receiving postmark of Ronks is applied.
On the reverse, the sender, Ruth Hutchinson, writes “we are having a wonderful time”. Ruth regrets that the Leamans could not join her and she inquires about “little Pauline”.
