The Hoatson’s safe is located under the servant’s staircase towards the back of the house. The combination was lost by previous owners of the house. We don’t have any reason to believe there are millions of dollars or Jimmy Hoffa inside…intriguing thought though! It’s very heavy at an est. 600-1000 pounds.
Elephant Hide Wallpaper
At the turn-of-the-century as Queen Victoria’s reign ended with her death in 1901 and King Edward VII took over the monarchy. The Edwardian-era (“Gilded Age”) began. In Europe it was slightly different than in the United States. In Europe, lighter paint schemes and cleaner aesthetics were rapidly growing in popularity–more pastels, wicker furniture, etc. Americans…
Beautiful Evening..
The pantone colors of 2016 are rose quartz and serenity and they look identical to the colors above Laurium Manor Inn. Aren’t the colors spectacular?!
The Architectural Genius
Charles Maass worked as a draftsman for Calumet & Hecla Mining Co. from 1900-1909 and was also designing houses for private citizens on the side. His clients included Captain Thomas Hoatson Jr. (Laurium Manor Inn, 1908) and Norman Macdonald (Victorian Hall,1906).
Teddy Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt’s Campaign Stop in Laurium Stays Overnight in Thomas Hoatson’s Home When President Teddy Roosevelt was campaigning in October of 1912 (he had started the Progressive Party or “Bull Moose” campaign due to dissatisfaction with Pres. Taft and a desire to re-enter politics again ), he stayed with Capt. and Mrs. Hoatson. He gave…
The Historic Hotel Experience
Historic hotels give you the opportunity to stay where history was written. Every experience is unique because no two people share the same emotional connections with the past. You are enveloped by extraordinary architecture, period art work and furnishings, and are immersed in the same physical space that past U.S. Presidents, business tycoons, and other distinguished individuals occupied. It isn’t only the historic hotel’s property…
The Original Gate Posts
When the Hoatson’s built their mansion in 1908 it had it had decorative iron gates and posts at the front driveway and the also the back entrance to the alley. At some point , probably the 1950’s) they were removed.
Exterior Paint Color Scheme
In 2007, we purchased a gem of a fixer-upper located at 320 Iroquois Street (only 2 blocks from Laurium Manor Inn). It’s still very much a work in-progress but the exterior painting has been completed with the exception of the back of the house. We painted it in nearly an identical color scheme as the original Manor colors.
Wild Roses
Victorian Hall Wild Roses These are the gardens in front of Victorian Hall. The roses are now over 6 feet tall and are in full bloom! The fragrance is very strong walking up the sidewalk to the front door. We couldn’t get anything to grow in the front gardens and it always looked like a desert…
The First Telephones in Michigan
Cornelia Chynoweth Hoatson, the wife of Capt. Thomas Hoatson, was born in a little town called Rockford, Michigan. Her father, Benjamin Chynoweth, made a name for himself in 1879 with four friends and a new invention by Alexander Graham Bell called the telephone. From the Detroit News, September 14th, 1930 “Four Men Laugh Last”.. The…
The History of the Pasty
“When the Cornish came to the copper mines of the Upper Peninsula, they brought with them a lot of mining knowledge which the other ethnic groups did not have. The other ethnic groups looked up to the Cornish and wanted to emulate their mining successes.”
The Story of the Calumet & Arizona Mining Co.
The men who discovered, financed, and developed the Calumet and Arizona mine took part of the earth and everything in it and proved themselves men at all stages of the game. Many of their operations were looked upon as sheer madness by experienced mining men of the district but Captain Hoatson and his associates; Gordon R Campbell, T F Cole, Geo Tener, and a half dozen others possessed the courage of their convictions and once they started to operate the jibes charges and croakings of the skeptics simply spurred them on to greater endeavor.
Laurium Manor Inn 