Today in Wheeling History: October 26--Ellsworth M. Statler, hotel industry pioneer who began his career at age 13 as a bellboy at Wheeling's McLure House Hotel, was born in Somerset County, Pennsylvania (1863).
Ellsworth Milton Statler was born on October 26, 1863, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Bridgeport, Ohio, when he was six years old. At the age of nine, Statler began working in a glass factory in Bridgeport. By the time he was 13, he had crossed the Ohio River to Wheeling, West Virginia, where he started working as a bellboy at the McLure House Hotel. Statler's fascination with the hotel business grew as he advanced from bellboy to head bellboy, clerk, and eventually the untitled manager by the age of 19.
Statler's entrepreneurial spirit led him to lease the McLure's billiard room, set up a railroad ticket booth, and open a lunchroom called "The Pie House". In 1907, he realized his dream of owning a hotel by opening the Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York, which offered "a room and a bath for a dollar and a half". Statler's innovations, such as private baths, telephones, and radios in every room, set new standards in the hotel industry.
Statler's hotel chain expanded to cities like Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York. He was known for his emphasis on guest satisfaction and employee welfare. Statler passed away on April 16, 1928, in New York City and was buried at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/o267U); Wikipedia (https://rb.gy/yetbio), West Virginia Encyclopedia (https://rb.gy/dyegat), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/QB8Gq)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons, West Virginia Encyclopedia, Wheeling Hall of Fame
Ellsworth Milton Statler was born on October 26, 1863, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. His family moved to Bridgeport, Ohio, when he was six years old. At the age of nine, Statler began working in a glass factory in Bridgeport. By the time he was 13, he had crossed the Ohio River to Wheeling, West Virginia, where he started working as a bellboy at the McLure House Hotel. Statler's fascination with the hotel business grew as he advanced from bellboy to head bellboy, clerk, and eventually the untitled manager by the age of 19.
Statler's entrepreneurial spirit led him to lease the McLure's billiard room, set up a railroad ticket booth, and open a lunchroom called "The Pie House". In 1907, he realized his dream of owning a hotel by opening the Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York, which offered "a room and a bath for a dollar and a half". Statler's innovations, such as private baths, telephones, and radios in every room, set new standards in the hotel industry.
Statler's hotel chain expanded to cities like Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and New York. He was known for his emphasis on guest satisfaction and employee welfare. Statler passed away on April 16, 1928, in New York City and was buried at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.
To learn more: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV (https://shorturl.at/o267U); Wikipedia (https://rb.gy/yetbio), West Virginia Encyclopedia (https://rb.gy/dyegat), Find a Grave (https://shorturl.at/QB8Gq)
Photo credits: Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling WV; Find a Grave, Wikimedia Commons, West Virginia Encyclopedia, Wheeling Hall of Fame
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