In 1857, a hotel was opened at this site by a La Porte City businessman, W.L. Fox. Mr. Fox was well known in the town as a very popular landlord and also as a prominent historian. His hotel registers have been found to include everything from the weather to information on his guests, including their business and whether or not they ate breakfast at his establishment. Fox sold the hotel to John Terry in 1894, who then operated it into the 1900s.

The drawing below was donated to the CedarNet Historical Tour of Black Hawk County Tour by Scott Voelschow in August 2000.