Behind the Royer Mansion

Royer Mansion is governed by a charitable preservation society and is constantly accepting any and all donations needed for the upkeep and maintenance that is required to maintain its original splendor. With out your financial support, Royer Mansion would not be able to continue to thrive. It is vital to keep Royer Mansion up to date, so that many generations can enjoy their historic home.

Royer Mansion is situated in the southwest corner on Woodbury Township in Blair County, PA which is nestled between Lock Mountain and Tussey Mountain. The mansion is located on a hill just east of Piney Creek and fronting Route 866 which connects Williamsburg and Martinsburg.
Research shows that half of the mansion may have been built by William Young as early as 1790. By 1815 the land and home were in the possession of the Samuel Royer family and the iron furnace was added to the tax rolls. In addition to the iron furnace and mansion the Royers owned 3,282 acres of unseated land listed as the Barrens Mountain Ground with timber reserves for charcoal, ore and limestone for the production of iron. Samuel Royer died in 1856 the furnace lands remained in the control of the heirs of the Daniel Royer family until 1885.

Tombstone of Ironmaster, Samuel Royer, buried in Royer Cemetery, Williamsburg, PA

In 1887 Eldon W. and H.W. Hartman purchased the mansion and 141 acres. Hartman was the husband of Anna Martha Royer (1846-1902) youngest daughter of Samuel and Martha Royer.

In 1927 Jessie L. Hartman acquired 8 acres on which sat the stone mansion house and spring house. Jessie provided his nephew Royer Hartman and his wife Carrie the use of the mansion for their lifetime in his will.

The Hartman’s were the last of the family to occupy the ancestral home. Royer died in 1948 and Carrie in 1965. With her death the mansion went into a state of disrepair. In 1967 the mansion became the property of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission with plans to raze the mansion and build a fish hatchery. Luckily in 1979 the Blair County Historical Society stepped in and saved the mansion from the wrecking ball.

Today, the Royer Mansion Preservation Society was founded in 2022 to care for and bring the mansion into its current glory.