[4] Starting in the late 19th century it was common for the wealthy of Harrisburg to buy rural plots of land to vacation for the summer.

In 1903, congressman Marlin Olmsted of Harrisburg purchased 69 acres as a summer farm residence named "Cedar Cliff".

Following his passing, his widow remarried Vance C. McCormick, whose family maintained Cedar Cliff until 1954 when it was sold to prominent architect William Lynch Murray of Shipoke, Harrisburg.

This board was a jointure of the school districts of Lemoyne, Lower Allen Township, New Cumberland, Redland, and Wormleysburg.

The board presented Cedar Cliff Senior High School as the "Fulfillment of a dream for better educational opportunities for the youth of its service area."