History & local legend
The Millheim Hotel on West Main Street has a legend about a woman waiting for President Millard Fillmore to return. Former owner Bud Wagner told the story to The Daily Collegian in October 2006, placing its beginning during Fillmore's journeys between Buffalo and Washington.
In Wagner's version, Fillmore fell in love with a local woman and fathered her child, but never came back. She died still hoping to see him again. Her connection with the president is part of the hotel's story, rather than an established episode in his biography.
Wagner also described a barmaid's experience in a back room, where a door slammed although she felt no draft. Staff associated incidents like this with the waiting woman. Despite the unexpected noises, Wagner said they had become fond of the hotel's unseen resident.
Sources
- Kristin Colella, The Daily Collegian, October 31, 2006, interview with owner Bud Wagner on the barmaid’s experience, hotel legend and staff attitude
- Penn State Student Media, former owner Wagner, present-day hotel and tavern, and distinction from Elk Creek Café
- Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and Centre County Planning, 112 West Main Street, historic National Hotel, survey BHP 056227, pp. 19–20
- OpenStreetMap, Centre County GIS footprint of 112 West Main
- KartaView, street image licensing
