The following is an excerpt from the Suttons Bay Sesquicentennial Celebration publication.
The village was well supplied with hotel accommodations. At the turn of the 20th Century, it support four hostelries: the Union House built in 19871 by F.J. Jelch, who operated it for several years before selling out to J.C. Anderson; the Bay House, built in 1874 by George Steimel who ran it for many years; the Seiber House, originally built by George Walter Sr. as a saloon but later converted to a hotel, which David Seiber operated throughout the gay 1890s; and the imposing Park Hotel with its wide double-decked verandas. John Deuster built the Park Hotel around an old saloon about 1890. It became the show place of the town and attained considerable popularity.
Because it was more or less centrally located in the county, Suttons Bay became a favorite stopover for salesmen and others who had business in the “Little Finger” of Michigan. Livery stables flourished in the horse and buggy days.
