[southwest corner 2nd & Walnut/ site of Antique Mall & Restaurant]

Old Ottawa House A Town Landmark

Was a Leading Hostelry Here Once

[Ottawa Herald, 22 Apr 1940, page 1, column 7]

The old Ottawa House, located at Second and Walnut streets which had been sold by Charles A. Kelley to the Coca Cola Bottling Company, is one of the oldest landmarks of the city and is closely linked with the development of early day Ottawa.

The original structure, a small story and a half rooming house, was purchased by W. F. Shaner in 1881. It was constructed of hard wood which was cut and milled in this vicinity. Shaner, who is now 84, came to Ottawa in 1877 and worked for four years before purchasing the place that became well known as the Shaner House.

After his purchase of the place from an Irishman named Austin, Shaner built on a large addition. At that time Ottawa was a small struggling community. There were no sidewalks, city water supply, gas or electricity. The guests of the house were shown to their rooms by the light of candles and kerosene lamps.

After the burning of the Hamblin House which was located at Second and Main Streets, in 1895, the Shaner House became the leading hostelry in town. The Shaner House served as headquarters for the men building the Burlington branch of the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad, now a branch of the Santa Fe. The Ottawa Star Nursery, the leading nursery in this part of the country at that time, also used the Shaner House as a meeting place.

The old well at the corner, now covered by a concrete slab, was known by the thriving community as the town pump. It was the best source of water in town and there as a continual stream of housewives and children on the streets that led to the well.

The well was temporarily closed in the early nineties when the Kyler livery stable, across the street east, burned, killing 27 horses and one cow. The well became polluted by seepage water from the fire and dead animals. With the advent of the gas and sewage lines the well was permanently closed.

At one time gas escaping into the well from a nearby main was ignited when a match was dropped into it. The force of the explosion blew the man with the match and Shaner across the street. Shaner still carries a large scar on his nose and forehead as result of the accident.

Shaner still has registry books which listed guests and carried advertisements of shows at Sheldon hall, the leading entertainment house of the town.

After the 20-year proprietorship of Shaner, the hotel was sold to a man named Smith. Since that time the house has changed hands several times. In 1924 Charles Kelley bought it from Walt Armstrong. The house had been used as an old folks home at some time between Shaner's ownership and 1924.