The grand pillared Edgerton House Hotel once stood on Main Street in Delhi, taking up the lot next door to what we now know as Stewart's Department store. Built from 1845-47 on the site of an earlier tavern, E.H. Edgerton's popular hotel enjoyed a long and interesting life, changing hands numerous times while continuing to be a mainstay of the village's history.
Besides being a lodging and dining place, the Edgerton housed other businesses within its walls. In the September 1859 issue of the Delaware Gazette newspaper, A. Walker advertised his barber shop which was operated in the hotel.
After standing for nearly 20 years, ownership of the Edgerton fell to Daniel O'Donnell in February of 1864. O'Donnell obtained a tavern license in May of the following year. At some point, H.L. Marsh became owner of the hotel but sold it to John H. McDonald for $20,000---including the furniture---in December of 1871. Six years later, C.B. Griffis who owned the Hancock House in Hancock purchased the Edgerton, installing gas lines in October of 1882. The hotel remained in the family when Griffis' son, Fred G. Griffis purchased it from his father in 1888. Fred was no stranger to the business, having grown up assisting his father with operations. In 1892, Fred leased the house and farm on Cherry Hill that was known by the same name as the hotel. On the one hundred and seventy acres of land, he kept a large number of cows, supplying the hotel tables with pure cream, milk and fine butter, while also cultivating the land for vegetables.
In August of 1891, Marshall Arbuckle bought the hotel from Griffis for less than McDonald had spent years earlier--for $16,000. Arbuckle's proprietorship kept the Edgerton as a popular establishment for several years. It was reported in the Gazette: "Mr. Arbuckle has conducted this popular hostelry for several years and has kept its well established reputation fully up to its high standard. Recently, its register was filled, showing that a book of 400 pages at an average of 25 per page had been filled since May 15, 1900. This for fourteen and one half months makes a total of nearly 10,000 people who have in that period registered as guests of the house. The many patrons will be glad to know that Mr. and Mrs. Arbuckle are to become permanently identified with the property that they have so successfully conducted."
The Arbuckles were probably less than thrilled when a coroner was called to the Edgerton on October 1, 1919 to investigate the death of John Jefsen, an "agent" found dead in bed. After an inquest and autopsy were conducted, the death was found to be due to "acute indigestion." No record was made of what Jefsen had for dinner or where he dined.
The glowing words of the Gazette writer saw Arbuckle giving up the notoriety of being such a successful owner-operator in November of 1920, when he gave up the reins to H.W. Palmer of Nova Scotia. Palmer's tenure as owner of the Edgerton was apparently less shining than that of Arbuckle's as the hotel fell into bankruptcy a short time later and was sold in December of 1921. L.D. Whitlock bought the Edgerton which had about $15,000 in claims against it. Perhaps in hopes that the bankruptcy tainted the Edgerton name, Whitlock renamed the hotel to, not surprisingly, the Whitlock Inn. For reasons that are not clear, in March of 1922, Whitlock oversaw the removal of the massive stone pillars of the hotel-now-inn. The Gazette did not report how this move affected the structural integrity of aesthetics of the building. Also at this time, the horse stalls in the rear of the building were removed in order to make room for 20 cars.
After all those significant changes, Whitlock sold the inn to a Mr. Holmes of Middleburgh in September of 1922; Holmes changed the name back to the Edgerton House the following month. Holmes' tenure lasted only until July of 1924 when the Gazette reported the sale of the hotel to "James Aristo of Nyack---an Italian." A mere month later, Aristo had carpenters C.H. Thomson and Douglas Hume build an addition to the rear of the Edgerton House Annex, "now occupied by E. R. Brown and family."
The Edgerton saw another sad chapter, this time a foreclosure, when W.N. Mable and A.F. Curtis purchased it on July 28, 1928 following a foreclosure sale.
But the saddest chapter for this once landmark establishment occurred a few short months later just before Christmas on December 22 when the Edgerton met its demise and demolition began, with completion of that act to happen by March 1.
In January of 1929, the Russell Archibald Company sold the Edgerton House barn to Nelson L. Miller of Elk Creek. The building was described as being 120' by 40' and two and a half stories high. The attached shed was sold to W.T. Aiken. Nothing further of these two structures was mentioned in the Gazette, but in April of 1929, "R.L. Gray & Son started to erect a gas station on the property of the demolished Edgerton House."