Mr. Sheppard took a job for no pay with the Charles Heiser Shoe Company, until his employers decided what he was worth. By the end of the third week, he was earning five dollars a week. At 23, his shoemaking career had begun. By December of 1896, Harper married Henrietta Dawson Ayres from Accomac, Virginia. Mr. Sheppard then worked for a shoe company based in Boston as a traveling salesman, calling from Delaware to Key West. He learned the shoe business literally from the ground up, including manufacturing, distribution, and sales.

In 1898, Mr. Sheppard’s old employer, Mr. Heiser, asked him to investigate a floundering factory the little town of Hanover, Pennsylvania. After visiting Hanover in 1899, Mr. Sheppard convinced the Board of Directors to hire him to run the company. Mr. Sheppard then entered into a financial partnership with Mr. C.N. Myers and they leased the manufacturing operation from the company. Together they took charge of the factory December 26th, 1899 with a common vision: sell the best shoes possible for one price, $2.50 a pair, and eliminate the middle-man by selling directly to the public. They opened their first store in York in June of 1900; within fifteen years the Hanover Shoe Company had 61 stores from Indianapolis to New York City.

Both men were truly civic-minded and displayed their gratitude to the town that nurtured their business. They were responsible for financing or operating such ventures as the Hanover General Hospital, the Evening Sun, the public waterworks and two impounding dams, the local athletic field and the Hanover Shoe Farms, today the largest standardbred nursery in the world. Mr. Sheppard also served the US Army with distinction during WWI by advising, designing and manufacturing military shoes.

His wife, Henrietta was no less extraordinary. She was a well- educated woman and a passionate genealogist. From these research efforts came her active involvement in the Daughters of the American Revolution at the national level, Daughters of the Confederacy, Magna Charta Dames, Daughter of 1812, and other such organizations. She, like her husband, was civic minded, raising money for her church and community organizations.

Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard had two sons: Lawrence Baker Sheppard in 1898 and Richard Harper Sheppard in 1912. L.B. Sheppard ran the Hanover Shoe Company and transformed the “hobby” of raising standardbred horses into the modern Hanover Shoe Farms. R.H. Sheppard founded the R.H. Sheppard Company, manufacturers of the Sheppard tractor from 1949-1956 and today an international leader in power steering components for the trucking industry. Today the R.H. Sheppard Company manufactures components for the trucking industry and is run by Peter H. Sheppard, R.H. Sheppard’s son.

THE HOUSE THAT SHOES BUILT
In 1911, Mr. Sheppard and Mr. Myers hired a Philadelphia architect, Mr. Herman Miller, to design a magnificent home. Construction began on first the Myers Mansion in 1911 and the following year construction began for the Sheppards. Less than a year after the birth of their second son, Richard Harper Sheppard, the house was finished in 1913. The Mansion not only served as their home, but as the site for many celebrations and a place to entertain visiting celebrities. Following Mrs. Sheppard’s death in 1960, the house was maintained but unoccupied by family members. Today it is a historic landmark, well known throughout the area.

In 1998, Mr. and Mrs. Sheppard’s descendants decided to restore the Mansion to its original state and give the building a second life as a bed and breakfast. Today the Mansion is a superior lodging facility, providing guests with every comfort and need that they might require in their travels. Each breakfast is a special experience as guests awaken to the aroma of freshly brewed private blend coffees and delicious home baked breads. The Mansion also provides facilities for group luncheons, private dinners, and special occasion receptions and may be arranged in advance. Each room affords our guests with crisp linens, color cable TV, PC data ports, and luxurious baths. We invite you to experience the various indulgent amenities of the Sheppard Mansion and the civility and sophistication of an era gone by.