Near the center of town at the foot of High Street is a building that has seen alot. Oh - to be a fly on the wall! Built sometime before 1818, we know that Harmony Lodge met here from 1818-1852. The land on which this building stands was once part of the Anchor and Hope land tract but because the owner at the time (Sarah M. Thomas) died without a will, this part of land was sold to Cornelius Smith and Samuel Rowland as tenants in common. Samuel later sold his share to Cornelius.
Until about 1855, it was known as the Farmer's and Commercial Hotel, with Joseph McMullen of Perryville as the proprietor.
In 1859, Robert Smith bought it from Cornelius Smith to use as a residence and a hotel, which he called "Smith's Hotel". It had several owners after his death - Washington Hopkins, then Joseph R. Miller then in 1892 to John Falls (which is where the name "Fall's Hotel" comes in). John's son, Hugh Falls took over in later years and it was again sold in 1920.
This building was many things over the years - temporary lodging, a residence, a hardware store, apartments, a doctor's office (Benson), a steakhouse, and several other restaurants.
Many celebrations were had within these walls!
