Eye on Small Business: Couple transforms dilapidated house into a dream business

When Laura "Lou" and Keith Murphy first saw Conewago Manor Inn, the former home to a founder of pharmaceutical company Wyeth Ayerst, the house was dilapidated.

The lawn around the stone and wood home, which held a post office in the 1700s, was overgrown, The previous owners had piled trash high

Pets roamed through the house at 2048 Zeager Road, West Donegal Township, just outside Elizabethtown. On the outside of the large, three-story house hung a Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County plaque - along with black plastic shutters at each window.

After seven years of renovations, Conewago Manor is home for the Murphys and their bed and breakfast dreams. The couple renovated the home themselves on weekends. Keith, who owns K. Murphy & Co., a contracting company in West Donegal Township, paid some of his employees to help, too.

The carpeting was ripped out, the roof and plumbing were replaced, and all 17 gas fireplaces were rebuilt.

According to the Lancaster County Assessment Office, the Murphys bought the property in August 1994 for $349,900. As of 2001, the property was assessed at $458,200.

Conewago Manor has nine guest rooms, which cost between $165 and $200 per night. "All rooms are named for either a different owner of the house or a family member (of the Murphys)," she said.

Each room has a fireplace, a bathroom with a whirlpool, a telephone and a television. Furnishings are mid-19th century American Victorian antiques the Murphys have been collecting for 25 years, including an early 1900s Steinway player piano.

"It took a while," she said. "Some of the things you just don't find (right away). We're pretty selective with what we collect."

The couple started a Web site, and hope to contact chambers of commerce and visitors bureaus to help them market Conewago Manor.

"We had several house parties throughout the year where we invited people to come in costume," Murphy said. A grand opening is scheduled for May 20. Murphy hopes to have Victorian-era activities, such as a maypole. (A maypole is a high pole festooned with flowers and garlands, around which people dance.)

For a B&B, word-of-mouth is important. So is additional marketing, said Dee Fagan, owner of Pheasant Field Bed and Breakfast in Middlesex Township, Cumberland County.

"Right now, 70 percent of my new business comes from the Internet," said Fagan.

Fagan is a member of Cumberland Valley Bed and Breakfast Association. Members refer customers to each other.