Fact and Fantasy: A History of Tavistock and District (1967)

Fact & Fantasy: A History of Tavistock & District

Hotels - Page 153-155

HOTELS

HOTELS
The Commercial Hotel
It seems pretty well established that Henry Eckstein, named Captain by his friends after forming a militia unit in Tavistock (see obituary, Gazette 1903), built the first hotel on this site in 1854, Lot 21, Concession VI, South Easthope. By Dec. 30, 1871 when he sold the property to his son Charles, only 1/2 acre of land was included in the price of $3290, the rest having been sold to Casper Mogk, to the Buffalo & Lake Huron Railroad Co., and to John and Charles Mohr. In 1860, the hotel was rented to Charles Mohr while Henry Eckstein started farming west of the village, having sold some of his large farm to J. C. Wettlaufer (later bought by Chas. Matthies, then by the Tavistock Produce). The Eckstein Farm was later purchased by Joseph Yausie and now is owned by Mrs. Gordon Krug.

Subsequent owners of the hotel were Charles Zoellner and Mr. John Loth, father of Louis Loth (died 1967 at age of 98 years), Mr. Otto Jung, who had moved from Saskatchewan and John Landreth, who bought the hotel on Dec. 1, 1898 for $ 13,500. The Canadian Graphic ,of 1905 writes as follows: "The Commercial Hotel" with Mr. John Landreth as proprietor, and Mr. John Landreth Jr., as manager is the first established hotel in Tavistock. Mr. Landreth Sr. has been longer in hotel business there than any other hotel-keeper. He has been a resident of Tavistock for 25 years, being first a general merchant but 23 years ago bought the UNION HOTEL, which he conducted until 9 years ago. After a year of retirement he bought the Commercial Hotel which he made one of the best in the locality. His premises are well equipped having hot-water heating, a private water system. For the commercial trade he has three large sample rooms thoroughly equipped: There are forty-three bedrooms in the house, and the dining-room seats fifty guests. The bar is most elaborate. The hotel is lighted through-out by electricity and is centrally located, being only about one minute walk from the station, The hotel has five new commodious barns for the convenience of the farmers and the horsemen."

Mr. Jacob Meisner purchased the hotel on March 8, 1909, for $16,000. With the coming of prohibition the hotel became a boarding and rooming-house and business block with Alvin Dopp's barber shop taking over the large front room , formerly the bar. In 1934, its days as a hostelry came to an end when the top storey and much of the front were removed, and it was turned into a service station. (see Sunoco Service Station)

The original building, across the street, was (the first in Tavistock. It was erected by Henry Eckstein in 1848, and refitted and served as a general tore to John Walewski, later Jacob Wagner, then Louis Mohr, and John Klein. It stood vacant for a while in 1867, and was reopened as a store by Louis Mohr and Val. Gerhardt. In 1868, it burned down. (obit. 1903)

The bar of the Commercial Hotel with the Proprietor, Otto Jung, on the left
and John Evans on the right.

The Oxford Hotel
"At the turn of the century four hotel nourished here;. the Commercial, the Union, the Royal, and Bauer's. In 1895, the Royal on the site of the Arlington Motel burned, but was rebuilt. In 1906, the Union Hotel, sold by J. Landreth to Fred Liebler was no longer considered fit for a public house and the owner Fred Liebler decided to build a new hotel at a cost of $14000 on the same site. It was named the Oxford and remained for over 50 year in the Liebler family, fir ( under the father until 1911, then under the widow until 1940 with son Arthur as manager and fin ally under Arthur until January 1958.

Mr. Liebler, now in his eighties, recalls many fond memories of the early days of hotel-keeping here. His father had come from Waterloo County where he had been employed a a limburger cheesemaker at Erbsville. Hi new hotel required 15,600 bricks at a cost of 8.40 per M.

The hotel was 46'x66' and had 21 rooms with a dining-room and bar. Rate for board were $ 1 a day or $ 1 I per month for regular tenants. Meals were 25¢ for casual, and 15¢ for regular diner. The hotel licence cost 90 per year and help was paid $7 or $8 a month. In the bar, drinks were five cents per glass for whiskey until 1914 when it jumped to 10¢. In 1916, beer cost $2.70 per half-barrel and a "Schoppen" or colloquially a 'schuper" of beer co t 5¢. Few customers drank bottle beer when they stood up at the bar with their one foot on the bras rail. Bottle beer co t three for a quarter. The cost to the hotel was 55 cents for a dozen. They were 14-oz. bottle. Whiskey cost $ 1.65 a gallon. There was always Free lunch in the morning at the bar and an "eye-opener" on the "house." Meat was about 10 cents a pound and coffee 32. Cigars cost 528 per M and sold for a nickel. Cigarettes first appeared in 1908, with Sweet Caporal Old Gold , Murad and Mogul brands at prices of 10 for 10 or 15 cents.

At that time tout was popular. It cost the hotel $ 1 a dozen while pints cost 60 cents a dozen. Since everything was shipped by rail, the breweries allowed the hotel-keepers the price of the Freight charge off their next purchase."
- Art Williams - Beacon Herald '29/4/65

In the pre-automobile days when commercial travellers travelled by train, they would set up their wares in the display rooms, the front room at the Oxford, on tables that were hinged to the wall. When all the goods were arrayed, the local merchants were invited to come in, to inspect the goods and to place their orders.

After 1920. in the room which is now the bar, Mr. Liebler had pool tables, two I believe, one of them for snooker. Many thrilling games were played here; some of the travellers were so proficient at the game that they gave after-supper exhibitions with their bejewelled, weighted cues. With no pool table in the village today the young lads are missing some fine sport. Out in the hall was a soda fountain, where Mr. Liebler delighted your eye as well as your stomach with his tasty dishes. Of course this was during prohibition days.

Mr. Liebler disposed of the hotel to Mr. Albert Ruby, who in turn sold it to the Bannermans, Bill and Aurla, who have entered easily into the life of our village and maintained the reputation of the Oxford for good food, clean service and friendly hospitality, since they took over in 1964.

The Arlington Hotel
As stated above, the Royal Hotel occupied this site opposite the Opera Hall, but burned down in 1894. In the Tavistock Gazette of Sept. 13, 1895 we read that R.J. Kube expand ed temporarily into the hotel business, The Progress Hotel, near the spot where the last one had stood. And in the same issue that Mr. J.J. Wettlaufer's hotel was proceeding rapidly under the guidance of Fred Heiser. Mr. Wettlaufer's advertisement appears in the 1897 issues, but from Feb., 1898, till Feb., 1899, the proprietor is shown as John Foik, who had come from Germany, only to die of the grippe one year later. In the July 16, 1903 issue there appears the For Sale notice: 3-storey, brick, 16 bedrooms, sample rooms, kitchen, wood shed , good barn and sheds, hall over shed: J.J. Wettlaufer.

Then came Mr. Sam Ratz.

The assessment roll of 1910 shows Mr. A.M. Bald as owner with property at $9000 and business at $2250. In spite of such drawing cards as a squirrel dinner on December 7, 1911, it seems Mr. Bald ran into financial problems, for on June 28, 1912, a mortgage sale was held, at which a Mr. Meier of Stratford got the hotel for $5500. On October 23 of the same year Messrs Helmuth and Hitzeroth took over the management. Later owners were Clarence Bollert and Charles Dietz.

As early as 1927 Mr. Ed Millington was in charge, remaining so for some 21 years. During the Thirties Ed's hotel became a mecca for transients, his wife's generous helpings being known far and wide among the knights of the road. In 1938 land was purchased by the village council at the rear, from the Kuntz Realty Company for $150 for the erection of community sheds. They cost about $450 more and were built by Mr. C. L. Erb.

The first meetings of the Men's Club in 1938 and of the Rotary Club in 1948 were held here.

From 1948 until 1962 Mr. Henry Hemmerich ran the hotel, having purchased it from Stefan Schoeck.

Then the Todorovic brothers, Bozidor and Mica became the owners in 1963. Unfortunately the building burned down soon after. No thing daunted, the brothers began to rebuild on the original site and now conduct a fine motor hotel, offering all the conveniences of an up-to-date hostelry with beverage room, fine cuisine and clean comfortable lodging in motel style. In 1967 they acquired the Old Opera Hall property, razed it and opened extra parking for their customers. Only the north foundation remains of the original mill built by George Malcolm just a century ago.

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