Caffrey & Davis Furniture Company/Senior Hotel
This building was constructed in 1890 as the retail furniture store of
James Caffrey and Samuel Davis, partners in the firm Caffrey & Davis
("Furniture, Carpets and Wallpaper"), operating here until 1907, when it was
purchased by Walter and Herbert Robinson. They, together with their
brothers, formed the Robinson Brothers Music Co., which sold furniture and
"musical merchandise." In 1921, the building was purchased by Laura
Senior. The Senior family added the rear addition with the second story and
operated a confectionary, cafe, hotel, and a billiard hall.
Through most of the 1930s, the Senior Hotel was one of three hotels
operating in Springville. Following Laura's death, title passed in 1931 to her
son, Oliver, who lived here with his second wife, Priscilla, and his children,
Max and Jaqueline. Max, Oliver's son by his first marriage, worked as hotel
clerk and later as manager. The hotel and associated tourist court (behind
this building) continued to be a family owned and operated venture through
the 1960s, closing in the 1980s, after which the building sat vacant. In May
1995 Bradley and Elizabeth Petersen purchased the building and began an
extensive restoration project to preserve and return it to use.
Marker placed in 1999
