Russell House

The Russell house was built in the early 1870s of locally made strawberry bricks by a newly arrived settler, John Sweeney. It was one of the first hotels in Port Stanley, and one of a number of similar inns required in the early days of lake, rail and stagecoach travel. Over the years it has served as butcher and plumbing shops, and doctor’s, lawyer’s and insurance agent’s offices. The building later became the Sterling Bank and several staff members lived in rooms on the second floor. One of these staff included a young banker named Mitchell Hepburn, who later became Premier of Ontario.