History of the Hamblin

["Ottawa Weekly Republic," 14 Feb 1895, page 2]

Along in the year 1865, when the Rev. Isaac Kalloch dominated affairs here, Ottawa, though possessed of all the hopefulness of this world, and a little drawn from the beyond, was still without those two chief factors of materialism, a railroad and a hotel

A promise of the one, however, suggested the necessity of the other; the Leavenworth, Lawrence & Galveston was aiming this way---would be along in the spring of '68---and the leaders of the town company set about securing the building of a hotel that should be a credit to the coming metropolis.

According to some authority Mr. Ed Cobb, in the spring of 1865 took a contract from the town company, to make a foundation for a hotel on the two corner lots at the southwest corner of Main and Second, and according to other equally as good and quite as confident authority, Mr. Cobb had no such contract. But be that as it may, it is certain that he dug a considerable hole there which was afterward utilized in the making of the cellar for the future house.

In 1866 Mr. D. W. Zimmerman, a gentleman whose enterprise was unfortunately handicapped by an insufficiency of capital, undertook the building of a hotel on this spot. He contracted the first four lots south of Second, the company making him a present of the lots. This building was to be ready for business by the 1^st of January, 1868. As before stated, Zimmerman's means were of no great extent, and he was reduced to many shifts to keep work moving; he was prolific of trade schemes, however, and managed to bowl things along merrily until he had the hotel proper---which was to occupy the first two lots---up three stories with a roof on and the windows in. Then his resources failed, and he stopped.

The Rev. Ike Kalloch was in greater dispair than was even Zimmerman; he had set his heart on having that hotel completed and a "big feed" ready to greet the first incoming train on the new railroad, and he moved earth and besieged heaven to obtain the funds necessary to recommence work. About this interesting time, Mr. Washington Libby, a wealthy Boston man, who was interested in Ottawa property came out on a periodical visit, and he was pounced on by the desperate Kalloch and urged to give Zimmerman a helping hand. For some reason, Mr. Libby, though favorably disposed toward the hotel scheme, was not sufficiently illusionized to trust everything to Zimmerman; instead, he sought out Mr. H. F. Sheldon, and offered to furnish the money to complete the house if he, Sheldon would assume charge of affairs. To this Mr. Sheldon, assented, and received $7,000 from Libby. An arrangement was entered into with Zimmerman by which he quit claimed the four lots to the town company, and it, in turn, made them over to Messrs. Sheldon and Kalloch. This was in 1867. Working under direction of Mr. Sheldon, Zimmerman went ahead and completed the hotel proper---fifty feet frontage on Main, sixty feet deep. He also commenced the building on the next fifty feet south, which he ran up three stories and stopped when he had the roof on and the lower store rooms ready for occupancy. These four Main street apartments were respectively occupied by the First National Bank on the corner, the hotel office next, saloon and billiard hall where Shomo was, and the south store room by Harrold Peck as a dry goods store.

The hotel was duly opened February, 1868, with H. H. Luddington as proprietor, and was known as the Luddington House. By the private arrangement alluded to above, Zimmerman held possession of the property until 1871, when he sold the hotel proper--north fifty feet---to Bowles & Topping, and the south half to H. F. Sheldos. Mr. Sheldon immediately went to work and finished off the two upper stories of his purchase.

In the meantime, Zimmerman had induced Mr. Chas Bunting to erect a three story building on the lot adjoining his south line and an agreement was made with him that a lease of the third story should run to him, Zimmerman, for fifteen years for hall purposes. This right went to Mr. Sheldon. The entire third of the Sheldon and Bunting property was finished off into what was afterwards known as Sheldon Hall, and which was for years the popular place for public amusements, worships, educational purposes, court room, etc. The hall was formally opened in November 1871, with some kind of services conducted by the Congregational church.

The changes in ownership since 1871 have been numerous. The hotel was sold by Bowles & Topping in April 1878 to Chas T. Smith, and by Smith to Geo W. Hamblin, in January 1876; Hamblin to J. P. Kerr, in December 1860; Kerr (half interest) to G. H. Embry in 1881. Shortly afterwards Dean K. Emerson and Chas B. Oelkers became the owners and on September 4th 1892 they made a deed to the Peoples National Bank.

The south fifty feet was sold by Mr. Sheldon to Hamblin in December, 1877; passed from Hamblin to J. P. Keer in 1861 and to D. Miller on May 5th.

As proprietors there has been a succession of gentleman, more or less successful, who comprise a list beyond the limits of our space to records. Mr. Luddington was succeeded by W. E. Smith, he by Walters, then followed Spencer, Sherley, Whisenand, Shaner, Lindsey, with a succession of W. E. Smith, and also of Major Whisenand, and then on down through the administrations of the Tabors, Shapters, Wm. Bitts and Messrs Iler, Maskery, Hammond et al, until it passed into the hands of the Peoples bank and proprietorship of Mrs Piersol.

Mr. W. E. Smith is the most distinguished person of Ottawa in connection with this house. He has been identified with it continuously for nearly twenty-five years; he operated the billiard hall from the time of opening, over twenty-four years ago until it crashed in ruins at his feet last Sunday morning.