The History of the Colonial Beach Hotel

Early Roots (1840s – 1880s)

The story of the Colonial Beach Hotel begins with a summer home built around 1840 on Town Hill, a high point overlooking the Potomac River. Local tradition ties the site to General Henry “Lighthorse Harry” Lee, father of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. By the late 19th century, as Colonial Beach grew into a fashionable riverside resort, the simple summer residence became the foundation of something much larger.

The home was expanded and transformed in stages into what became known as the Colonial Beach Hotel. By the 1880s, it had grown into a grand multi-section structure with wide porches, expansive parlors, and eventually 115 guest rooms—a scale that rivaled the largest river resorts of the Potomac.

The Golden Era (1890s – 1920s)

When the Town of Colonial Beach was formally incorporated in 1892, the hotel’s prestige was clear: the first town council meeting was held inside its walls. More than just lodging, the Colonial Beach Hotel functioned as the town’s civic and social center.

Colonial Beach quickly earned its nickname, the “Playground on the Potomac.” Steamboats ferried thousands of summer visitors from Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Alexandria. Families disembarked at the long wooden pier and were greeted by the hotel’s prominent façade rising above the shoreline.

During these decades, the hotel hosted elegant dances, banquets, and society gatherings. Visitors enjoyed bathing beaches, fishing expeditions, and leisurely strolls along the town’s boardwalk. Its long, shaded porches became gathering spots where city-dwellers could escape the summer heat and socialize in view of the river.

The Colonial Beach Hotel wasn’t just a place to stay—it was the centerpiece of a resort lifestyle.

Mid-Century Challenges (1930s – 1960s)

Like many steamboat towns, Colonial Beach’s fortunes began to shift with the arrival of the automobile age. Improved highways made it easier for families to vacation farther south to Virginia Beach or the Outer Banks, while the decline of the steamboat industry reduced the steady stream of visitors.

Though the Colonial Beach Hotel remained open, its once-grand halls grew quieter. It shifted from a high-society resort to a more modest family getaway. Still, locals and longtime visitors remembered it fondly as a place of childhood summers, church picnics, and small-town celebrations.

Decline and Demolition (1970s – 1980s)

By the 1970s, the hotel was showing its age. Maintenance on such a large wooden structure was costly, and with dwindling revenue, the building fell into disrepair. The glory days of steamboat tourism were long gone, and the Colonial Beach Hotel stood as a fading relic of another era.

In 1984, after more than a century of service to the town, the Colonial Beach Hotel was dismantled. In its place, developers erected a practical two-story brick motel with 60 rooms, a swimming pool, and modern amenities. While functional for contemporary visitors, the new building lacked the historic character that had once made the Colonial Beach Hotel a landmark on the Potomac.

Legacy and Folklore

Though the building itself is gone, the Colonial Beach Hotel remains an important part of the town’s identity. Many residents and visitors still recall its role as the social heart of Colonial Beach—from council meetings to summer dances, from elegant steamboat-era vacations to mid-century family trips.

The hotel also left behind a touch of mystery. Ghost stories persist, including tales of a woman in Victorian dress rocking quietly in a chair, reminding locals that history still lingers even after the building’s disappearance.

Today, the site continues to welcome tourists through its successor lodging, but the Colonial Beach Hotel endures in memory, postcards, and photographs. It represents not only the story of one building, but the broader history of Colonial Beach itself: from its 19th-century rise as a riverside resort, through the golden steamboat era, and into the modern age.