Lafayette College to purchase The Lafayette Inn

Lafayette College and owners of The Lafayette Inn, a historic bed and breakfast located just a few blocks from campus, are finalizing transition plans for the College to assume ownership of the inn. The inn was placed on sale in early 2023, and closing on the sale is scheduled for Aug. 31. The College plans to continue operation of the property as an inn and make any needed renovations and upgrades over time. Reservations will continue to be accepted and honored up to and through the change in ownership.

“The Lafayette Inn plays a significant role in our campus community, College Hill, and the greater Easton and Lehigh Valley region,” says Audra Kahr, Lafayette’s executive vice president for finance and administration. “The inn hosts many families visiting their students at Lafayette, potential Leopards touring the campus, and alumni who visit or speak at the College. We are thrilled to keep the property operating as an inn that will continue to welcome community members, Lafayette families, and visitors to Easton.”

The elegant Georgian mansion was first built by Elizabeth Wagner Leary in 1895. A group of investors purchased and renovated the property into a 15-room inn opening in late 1986. Over the years it has evolved into what is now the 18-room bed and breakfast. The land on which the inn resides was part of the Wagner farm, owned by one of the families that helped settle Easton three generations earlier, in the mid-1700s.