| VILLAGE OF CLYDE |
|---|
The southwest corner of Main Street (Milford Road) and Railroad Street was home to several businesses over the years. In March, 1873, the Roscoe Brothers built a combined store and hotel on the site. This first "Merchants Hotel" catered to the needs of traveling salesmen, stockmen and produce buyers, while the store also served as the Clyde post office. Both the store and hotel were later acquired and operated by Lincoln C. Johnson. On March 15, 1894, however, a fire originating in the cellar of the store completely destroyed the entire complex. As reported by the Milford Times for March 17, 1894, "A desperate attempt was made to save something from the post office, but with the exception of the blank money orders and postal notes, everything was lost, $60 of Uncle Sam's money included." The damage was estimated at $11,000.00, of which only $5,000.00 was insured. Undaunted, Johnson built a new "Merchants Hotel" one block south, on the southwest corner of Railroad and Bishop Streets. He also built a new store on the original site, which thereafter passed to C. E. Everts and later Charles Barnett. This photo, looking southwest from the Milford Road-Railroad Street intersection, shows the replacement building as it appeared during Barnett's ownership, circa 1915.
