The Old Stone Inn forms an interesting link in the history of Niagara.
Dating back to the turn of the century, this quaint stone building began
life in 1904 as one of the community's leading flour mills.
Built
originally as a three-story structure, the cornerstone was laid on July 4th
of that year, (with the Stamford Town Council in full attendance). It's
products, "Niagara Spray" and "Golddust" flours, were household by words
throughout the province for several years.
But by 1912, the Niagara Falls Milling Co. was defunct and the Urschel
Bates Valve-Bag Co, had moved into the building. Within twelve years, the
building was swept by a raging fire and lay as burned out shell.
The building and land was then purchased by Myer Salit, a resident of the
Niagara Falls area. Mr. Salit removed the remains of the third story and
set up his office and metal warehouse for his scrap business. Years of toil
saw this little company grow into a sizable structural steel supplier,
carrying on only a part of their business at this location.
In 1972, they
consolidated their entire operation and moved into much larger premises.
After remaining unused for several years, the empty structure was again
ravaged by fire.
Now the building has been purchased by it's present owner, and has been
restored to the likeness of the original mill.
The Old Stone Inn now proudly stands as one of Niagara's leading hotel and
restaurants featuring fine Canadian Cuisine.
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