English: Postal Date: October 11, circa 1860s

Scott Catalog Number of Postage Stamp: 65 Collection: Steven R. Shook

SENDER: John Hall Gould House Cor. Main and Lafayette Sts. Valparaiso, Ind. A. R. Gould, Proprietor

RECIPIENT: William Thompson, Esq. Hudson, Michigan

REMARK: In 1845, Elizabeth Harrison, from Tennessee, built a tavern, enlarging the structure in 1849. Around 1855, A. R. Gould moved into the structure erected by Elizabeth Harrison, where he operated a hotel and tavern there, called the Gould House, until his death in 1877. Gould was succeeded in the operation of the business by his widow. In June 1881, the Gould House was razed and the Central House erected on the site. Some of the proprietors of the Central House were Edward Mee, Mark Killian, John H. Spindler, C. R. Barnhart, Virgil Dawson, Dell Carr, William Burdick and James Wilson. The Central House was later called the Lafayette Hotel, followed by the Spindler Hotel, and then the Sheldon Hotel. The Sheldon Hotel was operated by James H. Sheldon. The structure was then sold in 1921 to G. G. Shauer and Sons. The hotel building was razed and the Premier Theatre was erected on the site.

NOTE: Approximation of postal year made by historical information known concerning the Gould House, as well as referring to Volume I of The Postal History of Indiana by J. David Baker, and published by Leonard H. Hartmann in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1976.

Information Source Porter County Vidette, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; June 23, 1881; Volume 25, Number 25, Page 5, Column 1.

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