Sawyer House Hotel

The true measure of a successful early pioneer community was if it had a first class hotel to accommodate visitors and other travelers. Stillwater has a rich history of hotels, starting with the Northrup House, the Minnesota House and others. It was not until the Sawyer House was opened that the community could claim a first rate hotel.

In 1857, Henry Sawyer began construction of a four-story hotel at the corner of Myrtle and Second streets. In January 1858, the Stillwater Messenger exclaimed, “our present hotel facilities have been wholly inadequate to business of the city.” Stillwater eagerly was awaiting the opening of the hotel, but because of financial hard times, not only here, but also throughout the country, the hotel did not open until 1861.

The Sawyer House opened under the management of A.B. Whitcher. The Messenger noted, “This is one of the largest hotel buildings in the State.” Moreover, that the editors of the newspaper were “glad to see a determination to open the house. It indicated an increased confidence in the future of business of the city.”

Whitcher remained the manager of the hotel for two years and left to manage the City Hotel in St. Paul. Jacob and Albert Lowell took over the management duties. In the meantime, the building was sold to “eastern interests.”

In 1864, Isaac Staples of Stillwater purchased the hotel, but sold it two years later to Dudley Hall. Hall leased the Sawyer House to the Lowells for five years. After the lease expired, in 1871, Albert Lowell purchased the building from Hall for $14,500.

At the time of his purchase, Lowell had 21 employees not including his family. The hotel could sleep up to 100 people at the time. His son, Elmore Lowell, was in charge of the office and was considered one of the most “popular” clerks in Stillwater.

Lowell made gradual improvements to the hotel. In 1880 alone, he added twelve new sets of chamber furniture, the stairs and halls carpeted with “rich body brussels.” In October 1887, the Sawyer House began heating with steam.

The Sawyer House offered complete hotel service. On the ground floor, which was slightly below the street level, there was the lobby, bar, pool and billiard tables. On the Myrtle Street, side there was a high-class barbershop operated by Addison Drake. The shop could be reached via the lobby or from a stairway on Myrtle Street.

An 1868 Sawyer House guest register, now in the collections of the Washington County Historical Society, gives a glimpse of the people who stayed there. There are familiar names from Stillwater such as McKusick, Carli, and Staples. Other names come from far and wide, such as Ignatius Donnelly and several different entertainment groups and the Hudson, Wisconsin baseball team.

The hotel was the centerpiece for Stillwater social events. Weddings, dinners and receptions were held at the Sawyer House. It was also the site for banquet and reunions and it was at the Sawyer House where the famous Last Man’s Club of Company B, 1st Minnesota Regiment of the Civil War held their annual meetings.

The Sawyer House remained in the Lowell family until Elmore Lowell sold the hotel to Oscar Ostrom. Ostrom operated the hotel until he sold it in 1924.

The last big event at the Sawyer House came on March 5th & 6th, 1924. It was an auction of the buildings furnishings, which was conducted by Jacob Eder. The final sale of the building came on February 26, 1924 when the Mutual Hotel Company purchased it from Ostrom for $7,000. That group contracted with the Cleveland Wrecking Company to tear down the old hotel.

It took three years of planning and then building to erect another hotel on that site. In 1927, the Lowell Inn opened its doors to an eager public. Known as the “Mount Vernon of the West", the Lowell Inn has always been a first rate hotel. It still welcomes guests more than ninety years after it opened on the spot of the old Sawyer House.

—Brent Peterson

Brent Peterson is the Executive Director of the Washington County Historical Society