The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, November 3, 1998 - 23 A hotel.... or two, on every corner at turn of century THF] tors took on the chal- J ip lenge and the event ) attracted over 100 Scugog by Paul Avculus Sketches of Scugog is a historical column written by local resident and historian Paul Arculus and published in the Port Perry Star Hotels were once one of the most com- mon and frequently tg ; spectators. noticed buildings in the | ; The match ended in a | | each month. hamlets and villages of tie between James * °° what is now the Paxton and A. Chaney Municipality of Scugog. for first place. A shoot Some of the old hotel buildings off was held and Paxton are left but the names of the emerged as the victor. hotels and their owners have fad- The other top scorers in ed into obscurity. Williamsburgh, now Blackstock had several impres- sive hotels including the Rayal, sometimes called the Royal Exchange, at the northwest corn- er of the main intersection and the Commercial at the southwest where the cenotaph now stands. Manchester was originally named Fitchett's Corners since a man named Fitchett had a hotel pio Farmers wy Sete doing business at the southwest corner of i age an | Sho: Bencral public will Highway 12 and Highway 7A. Another hotel at Manchester was the Revere House ran by B. Plank during the 1860s. He was suc- ceeded by George Houk in the 1870s. R.A. Murta was the proprietor of the Cottage Hotel in Greenbank in the 1860s. Jacob Dafoe had his Dafoe Hotel in -Utica for almost 30 years begin- ning in 1860. Prince Albert had three hotels but the largest was the 10 bed-roomed Anglo American Hotel. Even tiny Borelia, now the western section of Port Perry had three hotels. When the beleaguered Port Whitby and Port Perry Railway began its regular runs in 1871, Port Perry became the northern terminal. Port Perry had numerous hotels already well established to handle the stage coach traffic from Whitby and the steamboat passengers to and from ports on Lake Scugog and the: town of Lindsay. But the arrival of the railway created an additional need. At the waterfront, at the corn- er of Queen and Water Streets two substantial hotels were alrea- dy thriving; the Sebert House, also called the Port Perry House and the Oriental, at the north- bali sad petienings ih public, west corner, where the C.1.B.C. -- CT now stands and the St. Charles RIAL ANGE SLT Las, Hotel at the southwest corner i E. BRYANS, Proprietor, where Re/Max now | The Subscriber having succeeded Mr. Mason has its offices. Other hotels included the j in this pleasant and commodious Aotel has I! spared nelther labor nor expense in re-fitting Walker House where | : the Laurentian \ and renovating the entife premises. The Bar supplied with a superlor class of Liquors and Bank is now and, where the Post the best brands of Cigars. The choice uf the market provided for the Tables. Exoellent Office now stands was the Sinclair stabling and ntteotive Ostlers, Hotel. This is where order of their scores included C. Lattimor, R. Hunt, A. Whitlaw, Jonathan Blong, tied for seventh place were J. Ruddy, J. Bowerman and Peter Holt, W. Minty was in 10th place and Dewart himself only managed to place 11th. Dewart sold his inter- ests in the Railroad House Hotel to Robert Vansickler, just before the turn of the century. Vansickler had a livery stable on the property to the south of the Railroad House. The Railroad House Hotel was torn down in 1909. The fol- lowing year, Art Dowson built a blacksmith shop on the site. The property later became the site of the Port Perry Dairy. In 1948 Glen Owen sold the dairy to Don « Pargeter, Ted Leahy and George Parry. The building evolved into the Pizza Delight restaurant. While sitting in the Pizza Delight restaurant today, cus- THE WALKER HOUSE PORT PERRY Hotels. | | HE Subscriber having leased the above hotel, it will be his endeavor to conduct it in every particular so as to merit the approbation and patronage of the publio. THE WALKER HOUSE whether for extent or quality of accommo- dations is equalled by few Hotels in the Province and surpassed by none out of the best cities. Commercial Travelers, the Traveling] The Railroad House Hotel on Water St., Port Perry with Mr. Dewart standing in front. THE WALKER HOUSE | all that can be required in the matter of accommodation and moderation in charges. The Charges are No Higher at the, 'Walker House than at any other Hotel in Town. The House is fitted up throughout in 'FIRST CLASS STYLE. The Tables and Bar supplied with the chaice ot the market and the utmost atten- tion paid to the convenience and comfort of ALL GUESTS. An abundance of comfortable Stable and Shed accommodation, and attentive hostlers, W. B. McGAW, Port Perry, April 20, 1876. Railroad House. Dewart's Williamsburg Hotel was on the southwest corner of the main intersection of Williamsburg. His hotel was a pleasant two storey wooden frame structure built right on the edge of the street. The hotel remained in use until just before the end of World War I when it was torn down and the War Memorial was later erected on the property. Dewart also operated a stage- coach which ran from Port Perry to Whitby. restaurant, the former Port Perry Dairy. Here he built the Railroad House Hotel, sometimes called the Railway House, facing the lake, on the southern edge of the property. On the northern edge of the property, directly behind the St. Charles Hotel, he erected an extensive row of driving sheds with an implement shed directly on the edge of Water Street. The hotel was a two storey structure with an east facing verandah to each floor. Charles Holt was the proprietor of the hotel. James Dewart had been involved in a number of hotels. In the late 1860s he had leased the Queen's Hotel in Port Perry, a hotel owned by Dan Ireland. Ireland had built the hotel in 1865 on the site now occupied by the Murray House. Dewart left the Queen's Hotel in 1871 and established the Commercial Hotel in Williamsburg (now Blackstock) in 1871. At this time he owned both the Railroad House and the Commercial Hotel. Holt looked after the management of the Railroad House. He sold his interests in the Williamsburg Hotel to Peter Holt in 1879 in order to devote himself to the pert PERRY HOUSE, PORT PERRY. JAS. V. THOMPSON, - PROPRIETOR. The above House is now 'most comfort. ably furnished, and Guests are cared for in the Home Style. Good Liquors and Cigars, also, first class Stabling and good Ostlers.-- Additions have been made which maker this the largest and best House in this section of country. Fare $1.00 per Day. AILWAY HOUSE, (Opposite the Railway Station) PORT PERRY. This House has baen thoroughly over. hauled, fitted up and arranged with a view to tho accommodation and comfort of guesta. Meals and Refreshments on the arvival of trains. First-class stable and shed accom- modation, C. HOLT, Proprietor. REVERE HOUSE, MANCHESTER. By GEO. HOUCK Having leased the above excellent Hotel it will be my ¢ndeavor to conduct it in every particular Bo as to merit the appro- Dewart's Hotel in Williamsburg (Blackstock) at the sourth west corner of * main intersection, were Cenotaph is now located. tomers can look out over the waterfront and see a beautiful, and well maintained park. Beyond it is the pleasant view of Lake Scugog. Mr. Dewart's hotel guests would have had a com- pletely different outlook. The verandas of the hotel looked out & onto railroad buildings covered with the smoke and soot from Dewart was an avid marks- man and frequently organized shooting matches and hunting expeditions. On November 19, 1874 the North Ontario Observer noted that Dewart, accompanied by a Major Hodgson and Sheriff Reynolds had just completed a successful nine day hunting excursion on E, BRYANS Williamsburg, Dee. 0, 1875. A NGLO-AMERICAN HOTEL, PRINCE ALBERT. W. H. PARK, - - - PROPRIETOR. Having purchased the above pleasantly sitnated Hotel, 1 have (horoughly repaired and renovated the entire premises even to the Sheds. The Hotel has been furnished in First-Class Style and Stocked with the best Liquors and Cigars! Strict attention paid to the comfort of guests, The table and bar well supplied. W. H. PARK. Prince Albert, June 12, 1875, Oe --.. Advertisements placed in the Ontario Observer for the area hotels during the 1870s the fire of 1884 started. After the railway in 1871, James Dewart felt justified in building another hotel facing the new railway station on Water Street. He bought lot 67, the present day site of the Pizza Delight ed - pe t., - % > % 5 pe a ~ pr wu a " : The Royal Hotel in Williamsburg (Blackstock) located on the northwest corner. the "Back Lakes" (Kawartha Lakes). "He returned with his party on Saturday evening last bring- ing home as a trophy of his accurate shooting powers some nine or 10 splendid deer." On April 6, 1880 there is a report of a shooting match which was held on the lakeshore, directly opposite his waterfront hotel. Many competi- the wood and coal burning loco- motives. Beyond them the waterfront, with lumber and other goods stacked around warehouses, and the steamboats which carried people and goods around the lake. Today, the name of Dewart's Hotel lives on in the Railroad House Motel, built on Highway 7A right on the old railroad line a few hundred metres west of Mr. Dewart's Hotel.