Hotel Wellsburg was built in 1897 and beared the owner\’s name, Gereke, and the 1897 date, on the spire for many years. In August 1897, H. W. Engelkes of Grundy Center was awarded the building contract for $1,900. The two-story hotel contained 10 bedrooms, a commodius dining room, and an office. By mid-December 1897, the hotel was opened to the public. The rate in 1905: $2.00 per day with special rates for weekly boarders. Mr. Henry Neessen purchased the building in 1905. The brick addition to the east was added in 1914. The hotel saw many proprietors until 1922 when it closed and was converted into an apartment house. The days of Wellsburg having a luxury hotel to house the salesman which were brought to town by the railroad was over. Over the next several decades, many businesses and organizations came and went: in 1929 Herman Hippen moved his battery station and tire shop, along with a line of radios, into the downstairs location; Virgil and Tom Claassen rented the dining portion of the building and opened their woodworking shop in 1941; in 1945 Rorem Produce opened; as well as pool halls, barber shops, American Legion, AmVet Auxiliary, Girl Scouts, and others. In 1957 the cement block portion of the building was torn down by George Blythe and crew, with the remaining portion of the hotel razed three years later by Walter Harms to make way for the new Peoples Savings Bank.

(This was originally shared on 24 May 2022 on the Facebook Group – Wellsburg IOWA Historical Foundation)