Farewell to the Glendon Hotel

The Glendon Hotel, reputed to be one of the oldest buildings still standing in Northampton County, will soon stand no longer. The original section was constructed in 1740, in part to be a refuge for local residents in the event of attack by Native Americans, according to the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) done in 1979.  “The doors were six inches thick and the walls perforated with loop holes from which occupants could fire,” noted the HABS researcher.  

During the past 280 years, the building has seen many changes—enlargements and additions, including it is said, a 1920s speakeasy in the back; the exterior walls were covered with brick which was later brick-coated; a bar operated on the first floor and apartments and single rooms on the upper floors. But the past two decades have not been kind and the last owner essentially abandoned the building in 2013.  Worried that it would either fall apart piece by piece into Main Street, or collapse all at once, the Borough of Glendon enlisted the help of Northampton County to finance the demolition, which should be done by the end of the year.