Three names belong to this house at 219 South Front Street: the Simon Cameron House, the John Harris Mansion and the Harris–Cameron Mansion. Built in 1766 and frequently extended and altered, this is one of Harrisburg's oldest buildings. It is nationally notable as the summer residence of Simon Cameron (1799–1889), an influential Republican Party politician during and after the American Civil War. The house and family items were donated to the Historical Society of Dauphin County in 1941, which now operates it as a museum. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975, it sits within the Harrisburg Historic District.
You can feel the layers of history in the stone: the main block is a two-and-a-half–story structure of mortared limestone with a side gable roof. A single-story porch with fluted columns and arched Victorian valances fronts the house. The main facade is four bays wide, with the principal entrance in the center-left bay. South of the central business district, the mansion overlooks the Susquehanna River from the north side of South Front Street, between Washington and Mary Streets. Between Washington and Mary Streets, the fluted porch faces the Susquehanna, the river this house has overlooked since 1766.