Lapidum, at the head of navigation on the Susquehanna River, traces its history to the land grants of "Eightrupp" (1665), "Eaton" (1679) and "Land of Promise" (1684). As settlers established farms, the area grew in importance as a commercial center, with nearby fields of corn and tobacco and a bustling fishing industry. A ferry was established here in the 1720s and operated until the completion of the bridge at Rock Run in 1818. At the corner of Lapidum and Stafford Roads stood the Susquehanna Hotel, built by Conrad Baker in 1868 as a three-story frame, brick, and stone hotel with several large porches. Other town buildings included several houses, a church, mill, Masonic Hall, school, stores, and warehouses. Lapidum initially profited from the ferry, canal, and a steamboat landing, but by the turn of the 20th century these sources of traffic had ceased, causing the town to slowly decline; ice gorges destroyed the warehouses and wharves, and the hotel continued as a fishing lodge and men's club until it was demolished in the late 1960s.