Lot 78
Lot 78
Two cabinet cards showing the Western Hotel. The first one was shows owner John Kesner, who operated the hotel in Pocahontas, IL. Kesner met an unfortunate end to his life when employee Albert Ethridge, aged eighteen, shot and instantly killed him. “The shooting was the result of a disagreement over some meat which Kesner had ordered the boy to get for dinner, which he neglected to do. Smarting under the sting of the reprimand, Ethridge borrowed a gun from a neighbor on the pretext of going hunting and lay in wait for Kesner at the drug store of C. B. Springer. Kesner, in company with three friends, soon passed that way. Kesner was in the lead. When within a few feet Ethridge deliberately raised his gun and fired, the charge taking effect in Kesner’s head and breast. Citizens finally captured Ethridge and he was taken in charge by Sheriff Wright. The coroner’s jury held Ethridge to the grand jury without bail on the charge of murder.” This was submitted by contributor Nora Barton-Carver, Jun 2017, but you can find published newspaper articles online over the country as war west as the Morning Oregonian, Monday, December 1, 1902.
The first photo shows a group of men outside the hotel, and we think Kesner is the one wearing just a vest and no jacket. The second man to his left is an interesting study as he wears a long double-breasted coat with a top hat and carries a leather bag. Is he possibly a driver for the hotel or a stagecoach? A handful of the men appear rough and tumble and the town was actually named after Pocahontas coal, so they could be area coal miners. A modern note on the back reads “Pocahontas, Ill.
The other image shows an enlarged Western Hotel. The features appear to be similar but the back of this image has a modern note that reads, “Highland – across street from depot, Anna Schwartz worked here.” Online at the Belleville News- Democrat it states, “After the railroad was built in 1868, two hotels were built near it. The second hotel near the new depot was called the Hotel Zimmermann and was run by Jacob Zimmermann Sr. This hotel was later called the Western Hotel and was on the south side of 6th Street, between Walnut and Laurel.” Highland and Pocahontas are 10 miles so more research would be needed for the location of the second larger version of the hotel.
The Kesner photo is in very good condition with nice tones and contrast. Some spotting on the mount as seen and a soft corner on the top right. The larger Western Hotel image is light in contrast.
