Elias Hoover (1823-1892)

{Compiled by “S”}

John Hoover, son of Henry and Margaret, was born in 1780 in Pennsylvania, as the revolution had disrupted their lives. In any case he came to Canada about 1803 with brother David and Henry and sisters Ann and Elizabeth to the Rainham area, Haldimand county.

In 1815 John married Rachel Dils (1789-1875) in Rainham, Haldimand County. Rachel was the daughter of Adam Dils and Christine Bellas. Rachel was one of the fourteen children, six brothers and eight girls. John and Rachel had five children in the 1828 Gainsborough census. Their four sons were Josiah(Joseph), William H., John D., and Elias (the subject of this biography).

Elias Hoover, born December 1823 in Rainham married Minerva Guiline Bradshaw born April 24, 1829 in Pelham. They married in 1850 in Gainsborough township.

They had three children Isobel Hoover born 1851, Austin Hoover born in Wainfleet December 25, 1852 and died January, 15, 1856. He was buried in Oakwood cemetery, Wainfleet.  David Dexter Hoover born September 7, 1857 in Wainfleet.

Elias Hoover was one of the pioneers of the city of Welland. He was a municipal councillor for the village of Welland in 1867, 1868, 1884, 1885, and 1886.

Elias built the Welland House at the corner of West Main and North Main (Niagara St.). He managed it for several years.
He went to Port Colborne and built the Erie Hotel in 1850s. In 1858 he returned to Welland and once again managed the Welland House.  Then in 1873 he built the Dexter House.

“In June 1852, the lot at the north-west corner of present-day West Main and Niagara Streets was purchased by Elias Hoover from Ebenezer Seeley for 50. Seeley, who with Thomas Dunlop, was co-proprietor of the Welland Flouring Mills, the oldest mill in Merrittsville, and owned much of the land between West Main Street and the Welland River.

Apparently, shortly after the purchase, Hoover erected a hotel on his lot, since records indicate that on December 12, 1854, a meeting of the Provisional Council for Welland County was held in the council chamber of Hoover’s Inn. The 1861 census of the Village of Welland gives Elias Hoover as an innkeeper at 1 Main Street, with $2,000 invested in his business. An 1865 business directory of Welland lists “Hoover, Elias, proprietor Welland House,[West] Main, cor North Main.”  (In 1870, Hoover built the three-storey Dexter House on East Main Street and named the hotel after his teen-aged son, Dexter.)

It is likely that the Welland Hotel, now an adult entertainment centre, is the oldest continually operated business of any description in Welland, and the building is one of the oldest existing structures in the city.”

[Aqueduct Merrittsville and Welland, A history of the City of Welland Volume 2
The continuing Years by William H. Lewis]

Mr Hoover, we are pleased to learn, has purchased that eligible lot on Main Street upon which is Brown’s blacksmith shop, on which he intends to erect a large brick building the coming summer. The placing of the building here instead of where at first contemplated will be a gain both to Mr. H. and the town.

[Welland Tribune, 29 March 1872]

Hoover has at last secured possession of the lot on Main Street, formerly occupied by Mr Brown’s Blacksmith Shop, and has begun drawing material to the spot preparatory to the erection of a three story brick.

[Welland Tribune, 7 May, 1872]

Gone–Two old landmarks-Brown’s Blacksmith shop and the little house adjoining-have disappeared from Main Street during the past few days, in order to give room for the foundations of Hoover’s Brick Block. So we go.
The “dexter House,” Hoover’s new hotel, is to be opened on the 21st inst., the day of the circus in town.

[Welland Tribune, 9 July 1873]

Dexter House–Mr E. Hoover, owner: Mr. J.V. Strawn, proprietor. This spacious building which was opened a short time ago, has supplied a want long felt for more hotel accommodations in this place. The structure has a frontage of 55 feet on Main St., with a depth of 46 feet, and is three stories high. To the right of the main entrance is the reading room, which will contain the Montreal Telegraph Company’s Office. The bar is in the rear, opposite the reading room, and across the hall is a medium sized sitting room and to the rear of this again is the dining room, which is 20 ft.x30 ft., and still farther back is the kitchen 21 ft. x 24 ft. On the second floor there ae two parlors, and on the third, one parlor. There are 36 rooms in all in the building, 26 of which are sleeping apartments. The eastern side of the building will be used for a store. the shop being 2 ft x 46 ft. On the second floor above the shop there is a hall of the same dimensions, which will be used for assemblies, etc. The average height of ceilings is 12 ft., the ceiling in the top story being 2 feet additional. The cellar is of the full dimensions of the building. Mr Marcus Vanderburg, of this place, was contractor for the stone and brick work; the plastering was done by Mr. Bonaberg of Stonebridge. A large and substantial stable is also on the premises.

The Dexter
Address 69 East Main Street
Legal description Lot 9, Plan 551

Significance

Built in the early 1870s by Elias Hoover and names after his young son Dexter, this structure was a popular meeting place for over 100 years. The Dexter House was owned and operated by the Hoover family until 1906, when the structure was sold to Samuel Beatty. It appears that between 1888 and 1897, a man named George Ramey was both a shareholder in the business and the hotel manager.

During the the 1890s, the Dexter House was said to have been the unofficial headquarters of Welland Liberals on election days, with groups of voters gathering there for refreshment and to await the news of the election returns. In 1990, the Dexter was renovated. The first floor now houses commercial uses. The second and third floors contain residential apartments. The renovation work clearly indicates that older buildings can inherit new and useful lives.

Description

With dimensions of 18 x 38 metres, this three-storey, brick, Italianate block has a stable and solid appearance.
Built upon a rectangular foundation, the first storey exterior face has been altered many times. A combination of wood and brickwork now hides some of the original brickwork laid in common bond. The most recent entries are set either end of the structure. Formerly the first floor hotel foyer was glazed with large, low silled, windows which allowed the comfortably seated “regulars” to read their paper and monitor Main Street.

Both the second and third floors are similar in window style and arrangement. Typical of the Italianate style are the building’s semicircular windows. Crowned by brick voussoirs and keystones and underscored by stone lug sills, these double-hung, double-sashed openings are positioned in an irregular spacing. Visible symmetrically placed metal tie rods stabilize the front wall.

A corbelled entablature of decorative brickwork adds a second horizontal element to the main elevation. Like that of most commercial blocks of its period, this structure is topped by a flat roof with flanking chimneys positioned on both the east and west facades.

The side architectural openings of the west alleyway are capped by a segmental arch of brick voussoirs. Stone lug sills also complete these windows.

[Historical and Architectural Reflections of the Founding People of Welland
by the Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee of the City of Welland, 1992]

Elias Hoover Death

After years of Feebleness Elias Hoover, (father of D.D. Hoover, merchant, and of Mrs J. V. Strawn) died at his son’s residence, Welland, on Sunday last in the 69th year of his age.Mr Hoover was one of the pioneers of the county town. Deceased was born in Rainham, when a young lad engaged in farming and lumbering. Coming to Welland, Mr Hoover built the Welland House and managed it for several years. He then went to Port Colborne and built the Erie Hotel. Returning to Welland in 1858 0r 1859, he again took possession of the Welland House. After a time, he went into private life and speculated largely in cattle, the boating of wood. etc. In 1873, he occupied that fine hotel, the Dexter House. where he remained some fourteen years and until his death began to fail. He was a shrewd business man and accumulated considerable property. Some years ago softening of the brain began to develop and the sufferer slowly failed until perfectly helpless, when death came to his relief. The remains were buried Tues at Friends Burying Ground, Pelham. Mrs Hoover passed away nearly four years ago.

[The Tribune 1, April, 1892]

Elias Hoover died March 27, 1892, his wife Minerva Guiline (Bradshaw) died July 23, 1888. They are buried in Friends Burying ground, 940 Haist St, Fonthill.

[Reference: Photo of Dexter Hotel and Elias Hoover located in Section: Business Establishments
in the Book “Celebrating 150 years Walking through Welland.]