The S. S. Anderson Hotel & Restaurant

Without Washington Carlock, several Alexandria businesses and families would not be.

"Wash" was born in Bergen, NJ, on May 8, 1808. At some point a generation or two earlier, the family changed their name from Gerlach to Carlock, probably to disguise their Heidelberg heritage. Many German families did this following the American Revolution. The family moved to Alexandria in the Fall, 1850, although family lore says they crossed the Ohio River on Christmas Day, 1850. "Wash" and his wife Lydia Jane Ellyea had several children, one of which was a middle son he named after himself. "Wash" died in Alexandria on April 21, 1875. One of "Wash's" daughters was Temperance, who married into the Thorp family. Another married into the Hammond family. Floyd Carlock was well known along with "Wash's" son Henry Carlock as local millers. Velma Peebles, of recent memory, was also a descendant of this family. Perhaps less well known was Myrtle Carlock, daughter of Washington B. Carlock, Jr., who was born on August 25, 1874, in Alexandria. On December 7, 1892, she married Samuel Scott Anderson, a young entrepeneur who owned a business in town.

Samuel Scott Anderson was born on August 17 or 19, 1872 in Appleton, Ohio, the youngest of the four children of William H. and Mary (Gosnell) Anderson. It is not known exactly when Sam came to Alexandria, but he was certainly in town at least as early as September 1892, probably earlier. It is also certain that he liked to cook.

We must also know another person in Alexandria. On February 17, 1887, Richard Johnson died. Richard was the town barber. The town needed a new barber.

An 1895 photograph appears on page 240 in the history of Alexandria of Sam Anderson's Barbershop, Laundry, Telephone Exchange, and residence. Across the alley on the same side of the street stood The Old Tavern, which by now was Davison's Wagon Shop. On the downtown side of Sam's Barber Shop was the Town Hall. Across the street - the building still stands with porch and balcony removed - is what I believe is the old S.S. Anderson Hotel. A photograph appears on page 239 of the Alexandria history. It would appear as if Sam was quite an industrious fellow.

What would Sam serve? He would have had a soup, stew, or even a consumme. The entrees could have been roast beef and maybe steak, some sort of roasted, baked, stewed, or fried chicken, a pork dish, lamb, fish and maybe local game. Sides would have been Noodles, Potatoes, and Vegetables. Sam kept some bread around as well. For dessert, Sam would have had pie and perhaps ice cream. With Harry Buxton in mind, Sam would probably serve Oysters and Crackers. In the Lunch Room, Sam probably had a variety of sandwiches featuring local hams and cured meats or some other rapidly prepared dish. Local farmers could easily keep Sam well stocked. Today, were we to see his menu, we would likely make a remark about Comfort Food.

When the Business Block was rebuilt in 1905, Sam moved his hotel downtown, well... one block east and across the street. The Post Office then moved into Sam's Old Hotel. At least now, the new S.S. Anderson Hotel was in a new concrete block building instead of an old, dry wood-frame building. With Alexandria's well-documented fires, this would have been a prudent move. The picture of the hotel shows guest lodging on the upper floor and I estimate Sam had at least 10 rooms. The ground floor appears to be a restaurant. In the basement was a lunch room and billiard hall. Outdoor stairs from the street level down to the Billiard Room have since been filled in. It is not known how long the hotel remained in business. What is known is that by June 1, 1918, Sam moved his family to Mansfield where he opened a cafeteria at the new Westinghouse plant.

In 1918, the fast-growing Westinghouse Company opened a plant in Mansfield that covered 100,000 square feet. By 1943, during the height of World War II, the plant had grown to 42.7 acres and was a vital industry in the war effort. Sam was obviously a busy man with a large number of Westinghouse employees to feed. The plant was eventually closed in 1990 during an in-house financial restructuring, long after Sam and Myrtle had passed away.

Sam and Myrtle continued to live in Mansfield to their deaths. Sam passed away at the age of 80 on November 21, 1952. Myrtle outlived Sam by 12 years before dying on December 27, 1964.

As for the new S.S. Anderson Hotel... in my youth, the building was owned by George Price and was used as apartments. The old S.S. Anderson was owned by Earl Thomas and housed the Bailey family. I cannot tell you what happened between 1918 and 1960 at the new S.S. Anderson.  Sadly, George passed away a number of years ago; it is now too late to ask him.

Here is what makes history personal. Most houses in Alexandria had a barn. These residential barns were built for a horse or two and a buggy or wagon. They all had lofts for hay. Once the automobile came along, these barns were used as a garage or for storage - horses were no longer needed. While playing in the neighbor's back yard - Edith Irwin's back yard - something caught my eye in the old, grass covered driveway back to the barn. I dug it out of the grass and dirt with my fingers thinking I had found money. Once I knocked off the dirt, I became confused. It said "FIVE CENTS" on one side. Money? On the other side it said S.S. Anderson Hotel and Restaurant. I had found a token from the S.S. Anderson Hotel and Restaurant that had been lost decades earlier by Lawrence Irwin as he walked to the barn to tend to his horse.

The grave of Samuel Scott Anderson. His wife, Myrtle Carlock Anderson is buried beside him. Their son, Harry died in 1955 in Mansfield and their daughter Enid married Robert Hayes in Mansfield and remained there. — at Mansfield Memorial Park Inc.