In 1899, 120 years ago yesterday, several farmers made suggestions to area civic and business leaders to build a special “farmer’s hotel” somewhere on the south side of town. It would be a “first-class investment” and help to encourage more farmers to bring their goods to market in Port Huron rather than some of the bigger cities south of here. Andrew Kercher from the Port Huron Museum shared an article which explained that citizens ended up making a petition, albeit a year later, to help Chris Lauth build his new “farmers” hotel. They proposed to raise $1000 providing he built a $15,000 structure on the point of land at the intersection of Water Street and Lapeer Ave. He would eventually build the Lauth Hotel, which was a flatiron building resembling the iconic one in New York City. The Lauth Hotel, as some might remember, was the angular building that stood to the West of the 7th Street bridge, and was demolished in the mid-1970s.
