LeMars Daily Sentinel
Wednesday, October 23, 1963

The cry of the auctioneer in the halls and rooms at the Union Hotel this week marked the end of another period in the ongoing history of LeMars.

Fixtures and furniture went on the auction block Tuesday and Wednesday.

Residents who hadn’t inspected the landmark in many years were on hand to tour the dining room, old banquet room, which once was the meeting places of Rotarians and Lions, and upper halls.

Wednesday morning a group of buyers followed the auctioneers through the bedrooms and down the halls with their faded wallpaper and crumbled plaster.

Of major interest were stained and leaded glass windows, as was the cast at the Carolina Terrace auction here last July.  The beautiful old hotel windows sold for prices ranging from $16 to around $25.

The stately house built in 1892 which was the Carolina Terrace apartment residence in recent years has been torn down and work is underway on the construction of a gasoline station.

No official announcement has been made by Dr. Paul Brauch, owner of the Union hotel, about his plans for disposition of the building.  Dr. Brauch appeared at a recent city council meeting to inquire if the basement had to be filled if the structure should be torn down.

The council indicated that filling the basement was preferred to fencing the area until a future use of the site is determined.  The council learned Dr. Brauch proposes to sell the building this month.

Meanwhile, most downtown shoppers the last two days went about their business unaware that one of the LeMars early day social centers was passing from the scene.  Buyers loaded heavy goods out a back door into the hotel courtyard.

The history of the hotel goes back to 1887 when a stock company was former of home capital, and the structure was erected on the lots where the ill-fated Revere House stood.

According to a history of Plymouth County published in 1890, the Revere House was burned down by “incendiaries” July 15, 1884.  History reveals the incendiaries, “who were well known, but who through dishonest officers and packed juries, were, with one exception, never brought to justice.”

One of the Revere House owners was George Wilson, who became the first proprietor of the new Union Hotel.  At that time there were nine other hotels in LeMars, the City hotel, Grand Central, Dubuque House, Northwestern House, St. Lawrence House, Sutter House, Depot Hotel, Farmers’ Home and Mickley House.

Only the Union, Grand Central and Depot hotels still survive, with the latter two becoming apartment hotels.

The Union Hotel around the turn of the century was purchased by Ben F. Hodgeman, who operated the business until his death in 1925.  At that time the business was purchased by George Reichert and the building was sold to W. F. Mandelkow.

Under Mr. Reichert’s management, the hotel dining room became known for its fine food, and was a popular eating place on Sundays for LeMars families.  As in the early years of LeMars, rooms were crowded with traveling salesmen and visitors who stepped off one of the numerous trains which passed through LeMars.

With Mr. Reichert’s death in 1934, the Union Hotel business was sold a year later to a Cherokee hotel man, Mr. Burke, and Joe McCormack.  Mr. McCormack managed the hotel and later turned it over to his mother, Mrs. Annie McCormack.  She sold the hotel business to Dr. Brauch 18 years ago and she opened the Carolina Terrace apartment hotel, the first link in the fates of the two business places which ended this year [1963].

Dr. Brauch had purchased the Union Hotel building in 1942.