282 Ridge Road

282 Ridge Road. Downtown Ridgeway Business Improvement Area. When the Bertie train station of the Buffalo and Goderich railway line was built in Ridgeway in 1856, a number of businesses sprang up surrounding it, of which this property at 282 Ridge Road was one of the earliest. It was built by Alexander Willson as the City Hotel, but by 1878 it was owned by Aaron Anger who rented out rooms, and had ten children to support. Anger was unable to obtain a liquor license as the town already had its quota of two, so he resorted to dire measures - he hired a Buffalo man named Freebury to burn down the competition - the Queen's Hotel kitty-corner across the tracks. The fire was lit in the dead of night, and fortunately all of the occupants escaped, but the Queen's burned to the ground. The guilty parties were apprehended and a sensational extradition in Buffalo and separate trials in Welland ensued. Freebury was cross-examined in Buffalo by attorney Grover Cleveland who would become president of the United States a few years later. Back in Welland Anger and Freebury were sentenced to seven years each in Kingston Penitentiary. , John McLeod bought this hotel in 1881 and restored its reputation, and it would be known as the McLeod House for more than a century. A newspaper article said of him that he was "genial and upright, and conducted his business strictly within the law". Another article in 1910 boasted that the McLeod was heated and lighted by natural gas and had the finest of table, wines and cigars. The hotel also had a sample room where travelling salesmen would display their wares for local business owners, an ice house, and stables where weary horses could be groomed and fed. Other proprietors of more than 5 years duration included Huffman (1900-1906), Athoe (1906-1911), Percy Rice for 35 years (1911-1946), Hathews (in 1946), Macona (in 1954), Kafun (1960's), Collins and Teal (1970's), Serediuk (in 1984), Rose and Gerger (1990-2004), and Brown (2004-2012). The old railway line has been paved for use as a recreational trail, and Matthew and Trisha O'Brien and family renovated the property and opened the popular Trailside Bar and Grill in 2012. , Picture from Cathy Herbert Collection , Research and text by Ada Sherk