Draft:Silver Birches (hotel)



Silver Birches is a hotel complex in the Pocono Mountains, near Hawley, Pennsylvania, which consists of a historic inn, a motel, cottages, and a restaurant, all facing the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack, and including numerous porches overlooking the lake.

History
Per Historic Hotels of America, "Silver Birches is among the most historic holiday destinations in all of the Poconos. Its origins harken back to that of George and Rachel Singer, who constructed the facility as a quaint homestead in 1904. The couple operated the farm for the next two decades, until they were faced with a difficult decision. In the early 1920s, the PPL Corporation approached the two with the offer to purchase most of their farm for use in a massive infrastructural project. The PP&L specifically wanted to create a 13-mile-long lake out of the local watershed, in order to supply the region with a reliable source of hydroelectric power. The couple consented to sell the land, which was then flooded to help make today’s Lake Wallenpaupack. Realizing the value of their newly created waterfront property, the Singers decided to transform what remained of their homestead into a quaint, 14-room inn. Officially opened in 1929, the inn quickly made a name for itself by providing only the best in country hospitality. The family offered generous room and board, as well as three home-cooked meals a day—a rarity for business’ of that size!"

Lake Wallenpaupack was created between 1924 to 1926 by PPL Corporation by building a dam on Wallenpaupack Creek and a levee named the Tafton Dike. Lake Wallenpaupack is Pennsylvania's third-largest man-made lake and the second largest lake entirely within Pennsylvania, with a shoreline 52 mi long. ??

The property was opened in 1927, and with construction of the inn by George and Rachel Singer it was opened in 1928 as "Silver Birches Resort".

In the 1980s the resort's name was changed to Ehrhardt’s or Ehrhardt's Waterfront Resort. In 2015 it was co-owned in 2015 by third generation family members Eric Ehrhardt and Craig Ehrhardt.

It was purchased in 2015 by the Settlers Hospitality Group, a business owned and operated by the Genzlinger family which had owned and operated The Settlers Inn in Hawley since about 1980 and five other hospitality and lifestyle businesses in the area.

It was to reopen in May 2016 as "Silver Birches Resort".

Other
Its restaurant The Dock on Wallenpaupack was named as one of 12 restaurants providing "the best food in the region" by the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2021.

Other other
"The Genzlinger family has owned and operated The Settlers Inn in Hawley, PA for more than 35 years—and more recently, along with family member John Shuman, have established a collection of local hospitality and lifestyle businesses including Ledges Hotel, the Hawley Silk Mill, Cocoon Coffee House, Mill Market and Lake Region Fitness. They will purchase Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort, a third-generation family business on Lake Wallenpaupack, from Co-Owners Eric and Craig Ehrhardt."

Lake Wallenpaupack itself was created during 1924 to 1926

It includes Colonial Revival architecture.(one of the HHA pages)


 * This Scenic Wild Delaware source;
 * TheMamaMaven review;
 * Wally Ice Fest sponsor notes it was formerly known as Ehrhardts Waterfront Resort;
 * Manhattanite in poconos in Manhattan Digest (a blog or website or magazine or what?)
 * "Taking a Family Road Trip Across Route 6 in Pennsylvania" in Uncovering PA (a website or magazine?)
 * Several News 13 BRC items
 * It is one of 3 hotels owned by Settlers Hospitality. In this on post-Covid(?) concerts back at PAHomePage:

"''We were shut down for almost three months and as we went through the red, yellow, green, live, everyone else we were trying to reinvent different ways that we can still do entertainment,' Settlers Hospitality group CEO/owner Justin Genzlinger said. / At Silver Birches Resort on Lake Wallenpaupack, people enjoyed the show from a safe distance on boats, paddle boards and kayaks. It's part of Lakeside Live, a series of concerts at three resorts in the area owned by Settlers Hospitality group. Genzlinger says they wanted to find a solution not only for the guests, but for the musicians. / 'This was something we were able to pull off that met all of the guidelines but still gets a good crowd and some live music and it supports our local musicians, Genzlinger said."


 * poconos guide and Cozy Cabins etc in Philadelphia Magazine
 * This HHA finalist of 2021 and other HHA articles
 * and more
 * Add items found searching on Ehrhards:
 * This purchase news article in Pocono Business Journal in 2015. It was sold by "third-generation" members of Ehrhardt family, who will stay in position operating it. "The goal is to complete all renovations by May 2016 when the property will relaunch as The Silver Birches Resort, which was its name from 1928, when George and Rachel Singer built the inn, until the late 1980s when the name was changed to Ehrhardt's."
 * Some resort guide listings such as this in HRS still persist.

It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

It is located in Pike County's Palmyra Township, 17 mile from Wayne County's county seat, Honesdale, and 3.9 mile from the borough of Hawley.