Houghton’s Hotel
126 Main Street South, Seaforth, Ontario
( Year built: circa 1870 )
George A. Houghton was one of nine innkeepers granted a tavern license in March 1871. At that time he was innkeeper of the hotel next door. By 1881, Houghton ran Houghton’s Hotel across the street, and owned the lot. Before Houghton, Sutherland’s County of Huron Gazetteer and General Directory for 1869-70 notes that this was one of seven hotels and was called Lloyd’s Hotel. Peter McGregor of Brucefield bought it in November 1884 and used the adjoining stables as a horse-sales stable.
In 1885, part of the hotel property was converted into a roller skating rink. The rink soon became the Seaforth Curling and Skating Rink, in December 1886, and remained so until 1906.
The W.A. Willis Shoe Company opened here in 1906, with Harry Willis as the manager. In September 1907, Willis had the large frame building behind his west Main Street store moved to this property. He manufactured leggings here as well as children’s shoes.
In March 1909, the Anderson Taylor Company opened a clothing factory here with W.E. Southgate as manager. By 1914, it was W.E. Sanford & Co., Manufacturers, but D.C. Taylor and George Anderson still owned the property until 1922. The factory was in business here until the late 1920s.
In November 1930, the clothing factory was became a furniture factory. George Hanley of Strat-ford managed Avon Chest Ltd., Chest Manufac-turers. They made cedar chests here for four years. John Boshart and Sons Ltd. took over and began making a wider range of furniture such as dining suites, bedroom suites and bookcases.
After a fire on November 17, 1945, the white brick building was repaired and enlarged. In 1945, there were 56 people employed at Boshart & Sons Ltd. When they started manufacturing furniture here in 1930, the wages paid were 15¢ to 20¢ an hour.
Boshart Furniture was still here in 1965, but by 1974 Canadian Tire, with Fred Tilley as manager, had moved from their store north on the west side of Main Street to this location. The Canadian Tire store was here into the late 1980s. Bethel Bible Church is the current tenant and owner.
Above Photo: This photograph was taken between 1894 and 1899. It shows the buildings on the east side of Main Street north from the railway tracks. The large building to the north of the Grip House (right foreground) is the Curling Rink. The frame building next door is Richard Clark’s home and grocery store. James and John Nevills’ marble works was next, and next to that, with the horse sign marking its spot, is Dr. Campbell’s veterinary clinic. Arthur Forbes had his livery and John Smith had a wagonmaking shop next to the north. Between the Smith’s shop and the Dominion Block was a house which earlier had been Marvin Pillman’s tailor shop.
The property to the north of Houghton’s Hotel was owned by David McCulloch in the 1860s. The frame building here housed two families at the time. John Kyle bought the property in 1875 and used it as a grocery store until 1886. In 1887, Richard Clark bought the lot and continued to run a grocery here. He lived in the house part of the building for a number of years then rented to various tenants. Margaret Clark assumed ownership of the property and continued to operate a grocery store here throughout the 1930s. The building was empty when it was burned on August 12, 1939. The property was then sold to Boshart.
The property to the north of the hotel was occupied for many years by a marble works where tombstones and monuments were made. In the 1870s, Calder Bros. Marble Works was housed in a frame building on the lot. Henry Messett took over in 1874. David Grant succeeded him in 1887. M.L. Messett continued as owner until he sold to W.M. Gray in 1891. John Neville, a stonecutter, was the business owner. James Neville became the business and property owner in 1894. Neville was in business here until 1909 when James Hays, also a stonecutter, took over and William Thompson bought the property.
Above Right Photo: This is part of a stereoscope photograph taken between 1887 and 1890. The sign over the boardwalk in foreground right reads “M.L. Messett” and marks the monument works owned by Messett and operated by David Grant.
Above Right Photo: Seaforth Marble Works, J. Nevills, Proprietor, as pictured in the Souvenir of Seaforth, 1900. Advertisement Above Left: An ad from the Seaforth Sun of March 18, 1887.
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