The Albion Hotel – no longer a Brockville Landmark

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19-21 King St. E. [now on the site of the Wedgwood Retirement Facility]

When this photograph was taken about 1909, this hotel had been known as the Albion Hotel for over thirty years. Patrick Ludlow, then the proprietor, had been connected with the business for nineteen years. Along with a bar and dining room, the hotel boasted twenty-five bedrooms. Notice the two definite sections of the building. There is no information about when the addition on the right was added to the 1830s part.

[This photograph can be viewed full size in a separate window by double clicking on the picture on this page until you reach the enlarged version further into the system]

The long history of this Hotel

It is a great shame that this building no longer stands on our main street as it did until it was torn down a few years ago. It was one of Brockville’s oldest hotels, dating back to about 1830.

The original owner was the Hon. Charles Jones (1781-1840), an early Family Compact politician and the possessor of much of the land in the eastern third of old Brockville.

However, Jones was not a hotel keeper. He leased the building to Eri Lusher who operated it as “Lusher’s Hotel” in the 1830s. For three years (1843-46) the hotel was rented and operated by William H. Willson as the “Brockville Hotel“. He later went on to build the most successful, the “Willson House” at the corner of King St. and Market Square East.

The next proprietor was John McKenzie from Prescott who opened his “North American Hotel” here in 1846. The property was then owned by Charles Dickinson, Sr.
In 1851, Hiram Fulford ran a business in this building which he coined “Fulford’s Masonic Hotel“, while McKenzie tried another location. John McKenzie soon returned and operated “McKenzie’s Hotel” here until 1865.

Charles Dickinson’s widow, Maria Dickinson, through her will, gave the hotel property to her son Charles W. Dickinson in 1877.

From 1865-1874 this was the “International Hotel” at 175, 177 King St. according to the previous way of numbering the main street from west to east.

Then, for a long period (1875-1916), the hotel was known as the “Albion Hotel“. In this period there were various hotel proprietors such as James O’Donahoe, James Johnson, James Dillon, Patrick Ludlow (11 years), and Thomas P. Christopher.

In 1905, ownership of the property passed to Charles and John Stagg through the will of their great-uncle Charles W. Dickinson. They held on to the hotel until 1928.

It was in 1917 that the hotel name changed to “Garbutt’s Hotel” with the arrival of Harry Garbutt. He soon turned it over to Erle and Jessie Ashley who ran the hotel and then purchased it in 1928 retaining the name Garbutt’s for all their tenure. Their children, Mary M. (Milne) and Richard E. Ashley retained ownership in the family until 1964.

In the 1940s and 50s, David T. Dextor was the manager.

In more recent years, I do not know a lot about the ownership or operation of the business.

In 1964 the hotel was sold by Mary Marguerite (Ashley) Milne and her brother, Richard E. Ashley to Kay and Tim Kelly.
The Kellys set about to renovate and redecorate the building they had taken over.

One of their changes was to rename the business, “The Carriage House“. This couple made an impact on the community while in Brockville but later left town in the 1970s.
The hotel was purchased in 1970 by a Dutch couple, Thomas and Maryke Van Kimmenaede. Their ownership lasted until 1985 when they sold out to Mel Murdock and Ted Weise, who were then the owners of the “Manitonna Hotel” next door.

Desmond Nolan was known to be the manager for some of the later years.

Sources: The photograph above was published by the “Evening Recorder” in the 1909 Brockville Board of Trade souvenir booklet, “The Island City”. Many of the historical details have been gleaned over the years from newspaper ads, articles and business directories.

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Filed under Historical Buildings, Historical Photograph, Hotels

Tags: Brockville, Ontario, heritage, Historical Buildings, Hotel, Old Buildings, Demolished, Brockville History Album