The Cottages at Millbank are located near Idlewild & SoakZone and are within one mile of historic Ligonier, on the Elmer E. Deeds Farm, one of the Ligonier Valley’s oldest homesteads. The Deeds Farm once included a portion of Idlewild.
For centuries, the farm has graciously hosted guests overnight, even providing them with borders during the 1900s. The gorgeous fields that lay adjacent to Loyalhanna Creek – one of Pennsylvania’s most popular trout fishing spots – and its proximity to Idlewild and Ligonier drew in many visitors from nearby cities. These people would take the Ligonier Valley Railroad straight to Millbank Station where they would be promptly greeted by our lovely staff.
They got off the short walk across a bridge that spanned the Loyalhanna Creek to where they stayed at the farmhouse, springhouse or bunkhouse for a country respite and to enjoy Ella Deeds’ food.
The present owners of the farm are Elmer E. Deeds’ descendants, Julie and Ann Donovan, and Lynn Balthaser’s wife, Ann. The Springhouse and Bunkhouse have been completely rebuilt with modern windows, hardwood floors, new appliances, pillow-top mattresses, luxurious bedding, antiques and folk art to evoke a sense of nostalgia for summer boarders of yesteryear. The farm’s fresh yet contemporary cottage-style dwellings will delight guests with flat-screen televisions and internet connection in the same unspoiled countryside where it originally attracted summer boarders.