Originally this was an inn and stopping place for Ottawa River travellers. It is believed to have been originally owned by André Galipeau, who was active in parish, school and municipal affairs. Indeed, the inn served as a meeting place for the local village council until other public buildings became available.
The inn was later bought by my grandmother's uncle Robert Ager Roe of Clarence, Ontario, who came to live in Thurso, and who ran the establsihment as a temperance hotel. The wharf at the end of Galipeau Street beside the hotel served as landing place for the ferries which crossed the river to and from Clarence. In addition to the hotel, Robert Ager Roe also ran a ferry during the 1880s called "La Mouche à Feu". Later on, the building was owned by the Stewart family. In more recent years, after Kathryn Stewart, the last Stewart owner died, the building was purchased by the Quebec government and is now a welcome and information centre for the Parc national de Plaisance. It is probably the oldest building in Thurso.
*Elizabeth Waymann is a descendant of the Thomson family.