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Dr. Ronald P. Rogers CHIROPRACTOR Support for your body's natural healing capabilities 270-384-5554 Click here for details 
 
Columbia Gas Dept. GAS LEAK or GAS SMELL Contact Numbers 24 hrs/ 365 days 270-384-2006 or 9-1-1 Call before you dig 
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Hotel on Columbia Public Square has several owners From Mike Watson This is a visit to the history and ownership of the old hotel located where the Adair County Courthouse Annex building and parking lot are today. In 1898 John N. Conover built a fine brick hotel on the northwest corner of the Public Square. It was the finest and most modern building in Columbia for many years. Built on the site of a previously burned hotel, Mr. Conover's hotel contained twenty-eight rooms and fronted on Greensburg Street and the Square. Managed by Mr. and Mrs. George Coffey and Mrs. Kate Smith, there was a gala opening on 7 December 1898. The hotel was known by several names, as many persons operated it over the years. First it was the Conover Hotel; later known as the Marcum Hotel, it was operated for several years at the turn of the century by Marshall H. Marcum. He had previously operated an undertaking business in Columbia, and served as county court clerk as a Democrat for two terms. Mr. Marcum died in April of 1904 and his wife, Mrs. M.E. Marcum, continued in the hotel business for some time. Mr. Conover sold the hotel building to J.B. Barbee in October 1904 for $10,000. Mrs. Marcum continued to operate the hotel for a time. She later ran a boarding house in Columbia. Gus Jeffries owned the hotel, called the Jeffries Hotel, in the 1920s. It was then owned by J.C. Miller, called the Miller Hotel, and received a face-lift during his tenure. The William Hughes family took over the hotel in 1937 and it became the New Adair Hotel. Gordon Clark became manager in 1948. Owen Rowe took over the hotel in the 1950s and he and son, Hack, operated it for some years. Hack Rowe was owner and operator when it burned in November 1977. In this terrible fire, five people lost their lives. For more complete details on this structure and the business operated on this site, I direct the reader to Jim's excellent book, "The Conover Hotel." Ask for it at the Adair County Kentucky History and Genealogy Center by the Library on Greensburg Street in Columbia. For a look at Tourism in the old days visit, Food and Lodging in Early Adair County. This story was posted on 2025-01-05 10:29:49
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More articles from topic Mike Watson - History:
Christmas Happenings Sixty-six Years Ago, 1958 Book Fair one of most successful ever History: Presidential Electors, Convention Delegates History: Early Election Precincts in Adair County History Monday: 13th Kentucky Cavalry Shot - Stabbed - Hanged - and More a success One Century Ago in Adair County Sept 14 Saturday Session on Land Records Local History in Small Doses June 1958: When John Lair performed in Columbia View even more articles in topic Mike Watson - History |
 
115 Jamestown St. Columbia, KY. 270-384-2496 
 
  
 
 Provided by the Adair Co Fiscal Court and the Adair Co. Emergency Mgt. Agency 
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