Walker's, S., Hotel

About this property

S. Walker's Hotel, also known as the Brick Walker Tavern, is a former hotel/tavern located at 11705 US-12 in Cambridge Township, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The hotel is notable for its brick exterior and three-story height - most other surviving early brick tavern/hotel buildings in Michigan are two-story frame structures. The building is currently operated as an event space known as the "Brick Walker Tavern." Sylvester and Lucy Walker were married in New Berlin, New York in 1816. By the mid-1830s, they had moved to Cooperstown, New York where they ran the Union Hall hotel. In about 1838, they moved to Michigan and likely leased the inn and tavern located across the road from this site from the owner, Calvin Snell. At the time, traffic along what was then called the Chicago Road was increasing, as it was the primary route between Detroit and Chicago. In 1842, the Walkers purchased the tavern, renaming it the Walker Tavern. The Walkers continued to run the older, frame tavern until 1853. However, in that year, Walker augmented his business by beginning construction on a new brick hotel at the present site. The Walker Tavern still stands today. The new building was completed in late 1852 and it had a separate dining room and taproom on the first floor, guest rooms on the second floor, and a ballroom on the third floor. The Walkers continued to own both the frame Walker Tavern and the new hotel until 1863. Although the Chicago Road saw a decrease in traffic due to the construction of railroad lines in southern Michigan, the Walkers were likely able to stay in business thanks to their taproom, which catered to residents. In 1859, Walker sold the hotel to Silas Giles of Detroit but remained living in the hotel until he died in 1868. Silas Giles sold the hotel to William Graves and George Curtis in 1863, who in turn sold it to Lyman Nearing later that same year. Lyman Nearing was born in 1817 in Lafayette, New York, and moved to Michigan just before purchasing the hotel. In 1864, he married Jane Turner, and the couple moved into the hotel. In 1865, they changed the name to the Nearing House and owned and managed the establishment until 1887, when the mortgage was foreclosed and he lost the hotel. Walker B. Sherman purchased the hotel at the sheriff's sale, and after he died in 1892, it was sold to Edwin B. Culver. The hotel was sold again in 1898 to Frank Fitzgerald, and in 1900 to George Burton. Burton owned and managed the hotel until 1922 but with mixed success. In 1922, Frederick Hewitt purchased the property. Hewitt was born in England in 1876, and emigrated to Canada in 1891. He eventually received a degree in theology from Huron College in 1899, and took a position at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Detroit, staying until 1905. Over the next decade, he took positions at various churches throughout Michigan. Hewitt was charismatic and a skilled orator, and made numerous friends; among them were Alex J. Groesbeck, who went on to become governor of Michigan, and auto magnate Henry Ford.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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