Keystone House Hotel

Several hotels opened in Stillwater starting in its earliest days, and many of them were destroyed by fire. One of the best-known hotels in Stillwater didn't get its start in the business until 1872. That hotel was called the Keystone House, and operated by Horace Voligny.

The Keystone House was built at 203 West Myrtle Street in 1872 at a cost of $3,000, and catered to a "better class of boarders."

The November 26, 1881 Stillwater Daily Sun contained a short article detailing the recent repairs and renovations to the Keystone House. The article, in part, read: "Among institutions of the city which have made quiet but substantial progress during late years, the Keystone House, under the management of H. Voligny deserves prominent mention. The house has been put in thorough repair, and is comfortably furnished throughout. The neatness and efficiency of the management; the quiet and good order always maintained (no liquors are sold) and the moderate schedule of prices all make the place very popular. Mr. Voligny has accommodations for seventy people and stables for sixty horses, and his new boarding and sales stable is as comfortable and convenient as anything in the city."

Voligny, born in Canada in 1837, came to Stillwater in 1855. He worked mainly in the lumber industry; however, he spent several years on the Stillwater Police force, and also served on the City Council as alderman.

On August 15, 1862, Voligny joined the army was a part of Company C, Eighth Minnesota Regiment. That regiment was ordered to Fort Ridgley as a part of the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. In September 1864, the Eighth Regiment went to Clinton, Tennessee, and later to Washington and then to North Carolina where they met the enemy in battle at Kingston. They were mustered out on July 11, 1865.

Voligny returned to Minnesota, then left for his native Canada. He would later move on to the Russian River in California for several years, working again in the lumber business.

Returning to Stillwater in 1870, Voligny married Mary Louise Chardin, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Chardin of Baytown, the next year.

In 1872, Voligny built the Keystone House, and operated the hotel until he sold it in 1909, and retired to his home in Oak Park. It was on August 14, 1905, when Voligny and his old comrades from Company C started the famous "Last Two Man's Club."

This club, which followed in the footsteps of Company B's "Last Man's Club," with the difference being that it was to be the last TWO men that would open the bottle of wine and drink a toast to their comrades. The club met at the Keystone House and then later at Voligny's home in Oak Park. It was Voligny who purchased the bottle of wine to be opened by the last two men. It was also Voligny, and John Blake, who were the last two men to open the bottle in 1927.

Blake died the following year, making Horace Voligny the last man of the club he helped to create. The original company flag was given to Voligny as the last man of the club. After his death, what became of the flag is still a mystery.

The Keystone house continued as a hotel until World War I when it became an apartment complex. The hotel was torn down some years later, and now the Keystone Apartments are located at the site of the grand old hotel.