Hotels_proof3 Travelling in the early days of Upper Canada could be quite an adventure. Not only were the roads rough, but the night-time stopovers could be rough too (see "Breweries, Distilleries and Taverns"). As life became somewhat more cultured and people with means expected more, taverns morphed into hotels, boasting a minimum number of rooms. One of the area's earliest hotels was in the community of Amherst which had developed around what is now the intersection of Elgin Street and Burnham Streets. Lewis Stiles acquired this corner property in 1817 and operated the STILES HOTEL there for a number of years. The North Star Masonic Lodge met at Stiles, and Robbie Burns Dinners and other social events were often held there. Nearer to the lake, the STEAMBOAT HOTEL, on the north side of King, became the centre of attention for both visitors and businessmen. In 1835 promoters of the Cobourg Rail Road Company gathered there to consult on the best way to forward their plans. Charlotte Grey, in "Sisters in the Wilderness", reports on the arrival from England of Susanna and John Moody In 1833. Design provided by Quench Design & Communications Inc., Port Hope. www.quenchme.ca HOTELS Design & layout by Quench Design & Communications Inc. | Port Hope | www.quenchme.ca Believed to be Cobourg's first newspaper office In 1837 the Steamboat was renamed the Albion Hotel. John and Susanna settled into Cobourg's Steamboat Hotel. The talk in the saloon was all of lots and concessions (See Agricultural Map), acreage and mortgages. John was soon in the thick of it, buying drinks for all the promoters who hung around the smoky parlour, convinced he was going to get a good deal. In his book Six Years in the Bush, 1832-1838, Thomas Need wrote an account of breakfast at the Steamboat Hotel: A second Albion Hotel was built in 1873 at 20 King Street East The breakfast bell was sounded at 7:30 and repeated at 8 o'clock, whereupon there was a general rush from all parts of the house and the neighbouring stores… Instantly the work of destruction commenced - plates rattled, cups and saucers flew about, and knives and forks found their way indifferently into their owners' mouths… ALBION 2 - THEN ALBION 2 - NOW ALBION HOTEL