JAMES O'NEILL'S HOTEL

Neillsville Headquarters for Lumbermen in the Old Days

From "The Book of The Years", Clark Co., WI Centennial 1853-1953

As the years passed, James O'Neill, the founder, tapered off his activities as a lumberman and devoted himself to public affairs and to his hotel. He was elected to the legislature in 1848, being a member of the first legislature of Wisconsin. He was county treasurer from 1861 to, 1865. He was chairman of the county board for 15 years. In 1860 he began construction of the O'Neill house, long Neillsville's leading place of hospitality. Eventually the hotel became his greatest interest. He built additions to it, lived in it for some years and managed it for a time. The O'Neill house had a bar, a department not pleasing to the first Mrs. O'Neill, who was definitely a church woman. W. J. Marsh, who once lived for a time in the hotel, recalls that he once saw Abner Gile undertake to navigate to the upper regions. Abner had previously visited the bar adequately or more, and was unsteady on his pins. His slow and  uncertain progress upon the stairs was watched solicitously by Tom Withee, who was sitting in the lobby. "Abner, can you make it?" he inquired. Abner could and did. In Mr. O'Neill's day a feature of the second story was the "Bull Pen," a large room in which 10 or 12 men were bedded down. This room was cleared for social affairs, chiefly dances. In Mr. O'Neill's day the hotel was of f r a m e construction and had only two stories. After his death the third story was added and the entire building was veneered with brick. It finally burned down, and its site is now occupied by the post office building. The picture above is printed from an ancient engraving of old style. In its later years the hotel was owned by John Paulus, who was president of the Neillsville Electric and Water Supply Co. It will be noted that an old-style are light hangs from the cupola, one of the first such lights in the state.