About the Inn and Innkeepers

History of the Inn

The Hawthorn Inn was a private residence known as the Emma Knight House until it was converted to bed and breakfast in 1984. In 1988, the Emma Knight House was listed as one of 66 homes in the High Street District of Camden, Maine on the National Register of Historical Places.

The Emma Knight House was built in the 1890s by S.G. Ritterbush. Mr. Ritterbush was a prominent Camden architect/builder and dealt real estate. He employed 100 to 150 men building some of the “handsome cottages” in Camden as well as the Masonic Hall in Camden (today the Lord Camden Inn). He was very concerned about the environment and felt it important that a building needed to blend into the natural landscape. Local lore has it that that Laura (wife of Stephen) wanted the house very much, but it had been contracted for someone else.

Ted and I are the proud sixth owners of this bed and breakfast, the Hawthorn Inn, of the premier B&Bs of the High Street Historic District.

The Hawthorn Inn’s site has been the home to many prominent business people in Camden. William Alden owned the site prior to Emma Knight. Alden owned the Camden Anchor Works, the largest manufacturer of anchors in the United States. It is not completely clear which Emma Knight owned the property, but local historians believe that she was the wife of Johnson Knight, a purveyor of Coal, Wood and Hay.

Pearl G. Willey, the founder of P. G. Willey and Co., the local coal and lumber, and eventually, fuel company, owned the residence for more than 50 years too.

The Carriage House at Our Camden, Maine Inn

This building housed horses and horse-drawn carriages until the early part of the 20th century when it became a barn. The Carriage House now boasts four spacious, romantic rooms, all with king beds and super-size, two-person whirlpool tubs, views of the gardens and glimpses of the harbor, private decks and TV/DVDs. Three Carriage House rooms have gas-log fireplaces. The rooms are peaceful and quiet; not a sound from the outside world enters your private retreat, except the soothing Bailey Brook, which flows past the Hawthorn Inn on its way to Camden Harbor. The rooms face East, the Harbor and Camden’s magnificent sunrise.

The Main House at Our Camden, Maine Inn

Spacious common rooms in the main house include a library, a front parlor and a dining room. The perfect places to gather and meet other guests, or just relax and read. We have quite an extensive library, pick a book to read and if you don’t finish it during your stay, take it with you. From the dining room is a door to two-tiered deck and dining terrace with abundant plants and a patio garden.

Up the winding staircase in the main house on the second floor are four rooms with private baths. On the main floor of the Main House is a spacious room with a king-size bed and private bath. On the lower level of the main house is a room with a queen-size bed and Victorian soaking tub. This room also offers a second sitting room with a daybed.

A short walk to town or harbor, yet removed enough to ensure a restful retreat and peaceful getaway, our premier Camden, Maine inn also is a beautiful venue for weddings, commitment ceremonies, family reunions and corporate retreats.

Your Innkeepers

Ted and Lisa Weiss moved from Langhorne, PA to take ownership of the inn on June 24, 2014.

Ted’s background is electrical engineering. He worked for many years as a Program Manager, most recently at SRI International. Lisa Weiss is a Medical Technologist by training. She spent most of her professional career doing software test, validation and quality assurance. Her last position was with a specialty pharmaceutical company.

Prior to taking ownership of the inn, neither of us had experience in hospitality. We have always enjoyed entertaining and cooking. Sure there is a lot more to running an inn than that, but all of our prior experience in management, training, process and procedures has given us skill sets that we can leverage in this business. A number of years ago, we made the decision that innkeeping would be the perfect exodus from the corporate environment.

Even as we cope with the current pandemic, we can still tell you the decision was one of the best we ever made! We enjoy living in Camden, a warm and welcoming community. We love the celebratory nature of the bed and breakfast business–birthdays, anniversaries, honeymoons, a romantic getaway, a break from routine. In our time here, we have met many fascinating people (you our guests). It is a great honor to have had the pleasure of hosting some of these guests multiple times! It is an even greater privilege to know that some of our guests enjoyed being here so much that they chose to marry here or come back to celebrate anniversaries or have made the Hawthorn Inn their “go to” place in Camden.

Although we have only experienced a fraction what Camden and the surrounding areas have to offer, we have enjoyed what we’ve experienced – nature trails, fantastic restaurants, fresh seafood, produce and local delicacies beyond compare, an amazing arts community, and wonderful events and festivals. The Midcoast has so much to explore for everyone in all seasons!

We look forward to welcoming you to the Hawthorn Inn. Please let us know how we can make your visit to Camden an exceptional experience.

Come to Maine; it is the way life should be! Come to the Hawthorn Inn; stay, play, and unwind.