Contributed by Jim Yeager

I’m sitting here at my home in North Carolina feeling like I’m losing a member of the family. My Yeagers are from Allentown. My great grandfather was James A. Yeager, who owned the “Dorneyville Hotel” (and the Cetronia Hotel-Trinkles) for many years at the end of the 19th century and 35 years into the 20th century before it was sold at auction. James married John Dorney’s daughter Mary Ann and took over the hotel. After he died in 1896, his son Tilghman managed the Inn until he died in 1935.

Somewhere in the attic are my grandfather Miles’ initials carved into the roof beams. My grandfather stayed at the Dorneyville Hotel and the Hotel across the street (that is now and has been for many years owned by a law firm), during his summers. He spoke fondly of the fun that he and his cousins had during their summer break at the Dorneyville farm. There was a pond that the Yeager boys would boat and swim in just 30 yards away from the Dorneyville Hotel building. If you use your imagination, you can still see a slight depression in the ground where the pond was -extending out from the parking lot. In the 20th century, the Dorneyville Hotel was mostly used as Tilghman Yeager’s home. Many of my Yeager ancestors were born in this building.

Many people don’t know that the stone building across the street was also used to house guests as a hotel. In the 18th century all four corners at Dorneyville had stone buildings that were built and owned by Dorney brothers. I’m not old enough to remember all four corners, but I do recall when all three corners still had the Dorney homes/hotels. I also recall the large barn behind the house. That must have been razed in the late 50s or early 60s. I’m powerless to do anything about saving the King George Inn, but I’m glad it was a wonderful part of my family’s legacy.