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CEDARBURG â Wendy Porterfield, innkeeper of The Washington House Inn, knows a thing or two about Cedarburgâs elegant historic hotel, built in 1846 by German immigrant Conrad Horneffer â two years before Wisconsin statehood. After all, she has managed the inn for 37 years. Porterfield noted that Horneffer had emigrated to Milwaukee and was a trained leather maker who had owned a harness shop. In 1843 he moved to Cedarburg and began building the hotel because the town had begun to grow and thrive and was a dayâs ride from Milwaukee â the perfect place for travelers to rest for the night.
Although the Washington House Inn remained a hotel for many years it was later divided up for other businesses, including an auto parts store, offices for a dentist and a lawyer with apartments above. In 1984, entrepreneur Jim Pape purchased the building and began to transform it back into a hotel with the help of Kevin Pape and Kevin Porterfield. Gutting the interior, 15 room