146 South Broadway Avenue
Spring Valley, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Commercial House Hotel

Statement of Significance:

Introduction

The Commercial House Hotel in Spring Valley, Minnesota, is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A for its significance in the areas of Commerce and Entertainment/Recreation. The property reflects the historical patterns identified by the Minnesota historic context "Agricultural Development and Railroad Construction, 1870-1940." Originally constructed in 1874 and subsequently enlarged in 1882 and 1916, the hotel reflects the development of Spring Valley as a railroad center and regional trade center during a prosperous agricultural region. The hotel may also be evaluated in the context of tourism in Minnesota in the automobile era.

The Development of Spring Valley As a Railroad and Trade Center
Spring Valley, in the northwestern section of Fillmore County, is situated in what is called the "Minnesota triangle," the portion of the state bounded by the Mississippi River on the north and east, the Minnesota and Blue Earth Rivers on the west, and the Iowa border on the south. This part of Minnesota Territory was opened for settlement as the result of land treaties negotiated with the Dakota Indians in 1851. Many groups came into Fillmore County from New York State, New England, Pennsylvania, and other areas of the old Northwest Territory in the 1850s, attracted by fertile land and ample water sources. Much of the area was heavily wooded, and forests had to be cleared to provide arable farmlands. The village of Spring Valley in the township of Spring Valley was established in 1855 by a group of Pennsylvanians on the banks of Spring Creek. At that time the settlement was reachable only over primitive roads. The village was platted with a modest grid plan by Joseph B. Thayer. I. N. Cummings put up a store on the present site of the Commercial House, and a small log hotel was built by Myron Conklin on what would become the west side of Broadway, south of the creek. H. A. Billings and Cordello Wilkins occupied frame houses. The first commercial streets were Market and Main Streets, close to the banks of the creek. Spring flooding soon made that location less than desirable, so the business section moved somewhat to the northwest along the higher ground of Broadway.

The village prospered and was described by J. W. Bishop in his ambitiously named. History of Fillmore County, published in 1858. Spring Valley contained

some 30, or more, houses. In approaching the town, the eye is first arrested by the handsome, white school house, which crowns an eminence overlooking the village, and was built before the town was two years old, at a cost of over $1,500. A church will soon be built; meantime, divine service is regularly performed in the school house. Descending the gentle slope from the school house, we come to the steam flouring and sawing mills of Messrs. Stevens & Son. . . . The Spring Valley Hotel, by Farmer, is a well-arranged and comfortable house. Here are two stores, one hardware store and tin shop, and several mechanics. A lycexim has been in operation for several months past, and its weekly sessions are attended by the young and old, with interest and profit.

The population of Spring Valley had grown to 180 by 1860. Nonetheless, its long-term well-being was contingent on the introduction of the railroad.

Minnesota had begun planning for railroads before it became a state in 1858. However, political and financial difficulties delayed the introduction of railroads until the Civil War years. Until that time only towns and villages that had readily navigable water access or were on stage roads experienced any great degree of growth. The first railroad in the state was the Saint Paul and Pacific, which opened a line between Saint Paul and Saint Anthony in 1862. Other lines were built within the state in 1864, but the first railroad across state lines did not start until 1867. A group of investors planned to extend the Southern Minnesota railroad line from Lacrosse, Wisconsin, westward across Fillmore County towards the western part of the state. The line paralleled the twisting route of the Root River to Lanesboro in the central part of the county. Two villages thought that the railroad would continue its route to their centers. To the northwest was Chatfield, the first, although short-lived, county seat on the north branch of the Root River. Preston to the southwest was the successor county seat. Both communities, however, were bypassed. Instead, the railroad ran in a more westerly direction, despite the difficulties of topography including a steep uphill grade, apparently because of the political and financial interests of the parties involved. The Southern Minnesota reached Spring Valley in 1870, and work on the line continued to the west with Spring Valley serving as headquarters for the work.

The population of Spring Valley had risen to 1,200 by 1870, undoubtedly aided by the advent of the railroad. The community incorporated as a village in 1872. The Andreas Atlas of Minnesota, published in 1874, depicts the plat of the village, prominently indicating the railroad line, the location of the depot, and the depot grounds. The railroad also promoted the role of Spring Valley as a regional agricultural and trade center. Several grain elevators were erected by the railroad tracks close to the depot. At that time Spring Valley had three hotels. The Hart House, a frame structure located on East Jefferson, is depicted in a woodcut engraving. Nathan Elliott, the proprietor of the Sheridan House, which opened in 1865 on the present site of the Commercial House and replaced Cummings's store, is listed as a patron of the atlas. The Central Hotel and Farmer House, at the northeast corner of Broadway and Courtland Street, had opened in 1857. Parsons' Stone Block, one of the prominent commercial buildings, is also illustrated.

The Commercial House's Early History
According to property title records, W. R. Ewing, who had come to Spring Valley from Dunkirk, New York, with his wife and three children after the Civil War, had acquired the property that contained the Sheridan House in 1867. Ewing owned a livery stable that was located to the west of the Sheridan House, and in 1872 had built a new large, brick house located one block west at Washington and Main. That work was carried out by builder Michael Lower. In March 1874, the local press announced that Ewing was going to put up a larger, new hotel on the site of the Sheridan House:
The Sheridan House, an old landmark, kept by N. Elliott, is now the property of W. R. Ewing and is to be removed and a fine new brick hotel to be erected in its place. The dimensions of the new hotel are 44' feet front by 70' deep, two stories besides the basement, and will contain 32 rooms. It will be one of the finest hotels along the line of the So. Minnesota Railroad and when completed will be a fine addition to the village. West of the hotel is the livery stable of Ewing, and he keeps it well equipped with trusty horses and suitable rigs.

In that year, the property was sold by Ewing to Nathan Elliott, who planned to run the establishment as the successor to the Sheridan House. Elliott reopened the hotel on October 15, 1874, with a grand ball at nearby Parsons' Hall and supper in his "new and spacious dining halls.

Because Lower constructed Ewing's house, it is likely that he also built the new hotel. The local press noted that Lower was erecting the large sign on the roof of the building with the name "Commercial House," commenting that "this mammoth sign fairly represents the enterprise and characteristics of our new hotel and its popular proprietor." Lower had come to Spring Valley after the Civil War from Indiana. Besides his work for Ewing, he is credited with constructing the post office building on the east side of Broadway between Courtland and Jefferson, doing the interior woodwork of the Parsons' Block, and erecting the first railroad depots along the Southern Minnesota line between Lacrosse and Woonsocket, South Dakota.

Throughout its history, the hotel has been called the Commercial House or the Commercial Hotel. As built, it was two stories high above a basement and contained thirty-two rooms. The substantial brick structure with segmental-arched openings and a corbelled brick cornice also featured a wide front porch. From the beginning, the hotel sought to capitalize on its location only two blocks west of the railroad depot. It is likely that the large roof sign was erected to promote its visibility from the station. In September 1875, the train platform was extended west to Broadway to enable passengers on the trains to easily reach the Commercial House for a midday dinner stop, which was testimony to its fine reputation.

As the name of the hotel suggests, it catered to commercial travelers, namely traveling salesmen who took the train from town to town and were commonly referred to as "drummers." Western Progress proudly proclaimed that "the Commercial House is famous among traveling men as the 'boss hotel' on the S.M.R.R." When in a town, a drummer displayed samples of his merchandise in a local hotel, and the local merchants placed their orders. The Commercial House had a sample room set up in the basement to accommodate the drummers. The hotel sent horse-drawn drays to bring the drummers' luggage and cases to the hotel. The salesmen could hire horses and carriages from the adjacent livery stable to travel around town and out to the countryside to visit customers.

Historian Lewis Atherton describes typical village hotels in the late nineteenth century:

Some village hotels were two and three stories tall, with long porches, chairs and settees, where guests cooled off on drowsy summer evenings and lazily watched the parade of strolling villagers. Livery-stable advertisements above the registration desk in the main office called attention to facilities available for side trips. Sample rooms for drummers, perhaps a "saloon parlor" with piano, and a dining room were common. Guests often ate at a single, long table, staffed by waitresses who had acquired a breezy familiarity from the constant joshing of travelling salesmen. Many hotels charged farmers thirty-five cents and drummers fifty for the same noon meal, and no one seemed to object. On the second floor were the guest rooms, furnished with bed, chairs, pitcher and basin, and a chamber pot.

Certainly, the Commercial House would have fit this description in its early years.

The volunteer fire brigade saved the building when a major fire struck downtown on January 8, 1879. Elliott sold the property in 1879 for $7,500 to Nelson B. Smith. Business prospered sufficiently that Smith took out a mortgage to enlarge the building in 1882. The rear section that contained the kitchen was added, and the dining room in the middle section of the building was enlarged. Historic photographs indicate that the design of the original portion of the building was continued on the addition, even though the construction methods and materials differed, changing from brick bearing walls to brick veneer over wood framing. The office was in the southeast corner facing the intersection of Broadway and Main Street, and a writing room was north of the staircase that led to the second story. The sample room was in the basement below the office, and the hotel was heated by steam from a basement boiler.

The Commercial House became popular as a site for local activities such as the founding meeting of the local chapter of the Old Settlers Association in 1880. The local press regularly carried announcements of weddings and parties at the hotel, and the dining room was often described as spacious and offering good food. It was the best place to stay in Spring Valley, and its location was cited as a reference point by local merchants. Wilder's Variety Store, for example, advertised its new location on the "corner of Broadway and Main Streets, opposite Commercial House."