The Cottages at Millbank

 
 

History of The Cottages at Millbank

The Cottages at Millbank, situated on the Elmer E. Deeds Farm - one of the Ligonier Valley's oldest homesteads neighbors Idlewild & SoakZone and is within one mile of historic Ligonier. A portion of Idlewild was once part of the Deeds Farm. The farm has a storied history of welcoming overnight guests or boarders as they were called during the early to mid-1900s era. The farm's beautiful fields which border the Loyalhanna Creek - one of Pennsylvania's finest stocked trout streams and its proximity to Idlewild and Ligonier attracted city dwellers who arrived by train to Millbank Station, a stop on the Ligonier Valley Railroad. They disembarked for the short walk across a swinging bridge that spanned the Loyalhanna Creek to the Deeds Farm where they stayed at the farmhouse, springhouse or bunkhouse for a country respite and to enjoy Ella Deeds farm-fresh, home-cooked food.

Today, the farm is owned by descendants of Elmer E. Deeds, siblings Julie and Ann Donovan and Ann's husband Lynn Balthaser. The Springhouse and Bunkhouse have been completely renovated with new windows, hard wood floors, new appliances, pillow top mattresses, luxurious linens, antiques and folk art. Guests will be charmed by the farm fresh yet modern cottage-style accommodations complete with flat-screen televisions and internet service in the same unspoiled countryside setting that appealed to summer boarders of yesteryear.