The ruins of the old Abraham Hess Hotel, also known as the Short Mountain Hotel, are shown in the above photograph which was taken in the early 21st century in Specktown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Remnants of this building still exist in 2017, but are in a very dilapidated and hazardous state.
Originally, the land surrounding this building was part of patents issued to Nicholas Hoffman in 1797 and Peter Hoffman Jr. in 1796.
Abraham Hess, a shoemaker, lived in Gratz, but eventually he sold all his property there and moved to this property where he eventually accumulated about 100 acres, Records show that he operated a tavern in this building in the 1870s, but by 1875, he had sold most of the land. A dairy was conducted on this property in the 1890s.
The 1875 map of Lykens Township gives the location of the Short Mountain Hotel and the Abraham Hess property of 100 acres.
