The Sale Of The Vermilion Hotel

The Vermilion Hotel was one of the largest buildings in the community during the 1920s. Every day, people would stay there as they journeyed east or west along the railroad. Many of the first settlers to the area also stayed there, making it a very important building to a lot of people.

On March 9, 1923, it was announced that A. Ferrie had sold the Vermilion Hotel and all of its contents to J. Kain of North Battleford. The total price of the sale was $8,000, about $130,000 today. This was actually the fourth time that the hotel had been sold in the past 18 months.

The hotel was expected to be under its new management within a few days. The former owner of the hotel, A. Ferrie, was expected to purchase a new hotel in Saskatchewan.

The Vermilion Hotel was built in 1905 by E. Connors and was one of the first buildings ever built in Vermilion.

Perhaps one reason that Ferrie chose to sell was that around the same time that his hotel was bought by Kain, Vermilion council decided to adopt a business tax. The business tax would help bring more money into the community, but not all business owners were happy about it.

At the same time, Vermilion council stated that the new business tax would put money into the construction of a water tank so that the community had ample fire protection. The mayor added that the business tax did not mean an increase in the tax burden for business owners. It was just meant as a way to help the community that was currently $16,000 in debt to the bank.

With the sale of the hotel and the adoption of the business tax, it was a busy time for Vermilion as events unfolded that would have an impact on the community for many years to come.

Contact Craig at craig@canadaehx.com

Support Craig by donating at www.canadaehx.com (Click Donate)

Listen to his podcast Canadian History Ehx on all podcast platforms.