Building Name: Wesch-Oak

Building Address: 717 North River Street, Hot Springs, SD 57747

Date Built: 1893

First Occupant: Henry Shultz opened Boarding House/Beer Saloon

Current Occupant: Demolished June 9th, 2021

Sandstone Quarry: Unknown

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Phillip Wesch and John Oak (Wesch-Oak) Architectural Style: The north facing wall of the Wesch-Oak Building was rubble rock with a hard rock cut, tool-faced front façade. On the River Street front side, stone pilasters flanked the central opening which is a design technique to establish two separate store fronts and to emphasize the major entrance to the upstairs. Symmetrical in design, the building displayed a Romanesque arched window on the second floor and a denticulated cornice. On the rear facade were ornate brackets that once supported two balconies. A carved spread eagle was hand carved to ornament the front of the Wesch-Oak block.

History:

July 21st, 1893: Henry Shultz has opened his beer saloon in the Wesch-Oak Building. A month later he sold out his saloon to Ben Skiles (August 23rd, 1893) and it is said he left town. There was a mortgage on the saloon fixtures for $200. Mrs. Schultz was still in town so Henry's friends said he will return in a few days. (No update found.)

December 18th, 1893: A handsomely carved spread eagle, the handiwork of young Mr. Sauers of Cheyenne River, came up from the quarry in a carload of stone Tuesday. It will be used to ornament the front of the Wesch-Oak block. It is a handsome piece of stonework.

December 10th, 1894: Ben Skiles was later charged with keeping a gambling place) and a few weeks later (January 4th, 1895) sold his saloon business to Henry Marty and Al Dearduff.

May 12,1899: edition Hot Springs Weekly Star: Wesch & Oak, a firm well known here, has left Edgemont and gone to Spokane, Wash. They expect to locate somewhere in that north­west country. Last mention of the partners was on February 15, 1901, John Oak is visiting here. He is now a resident of Billings. His partner, Philip Wesch, is still with him.

April 3rd, 1908: The Union Hotel opened Wednesday with Miss Nora Wheeler in charge of the rooms and Mrs. Carrie Gode in charge of dining.

1910: A raised boardwalk allowed carriage passengers to step directly into the building from River Street.

August 30, 1912: W. J. Kellogg took over the Union Hotel. Hot Springs Motor bought the building next to the one it now owns, known as the Union Hotel Building. This left no vacant building on River Street.

May 29, 1919: The Wesch-Oak Building was considered to be one of the oldest sandstone structures when still standing in 2021. The building served as a boarding house for teachers and tourists in Hot Springs’ early days with apartments upstairs. An atrium separated the downstairs dining room and parlor with an adjacent main floor shop. The concrete sidewalk shows the driveway to the garage of Hot Springs Motor that later took over the building in 1919. The historic storefront remained largely intact in 2021. The Wesch-Oak Building, also known as the Mower House, faced an uncertain future due to structural concerns and had been mostly vacant for the past several decades.

October 1996: The building was first condemned by the City of Hot Springs after 10 years of debate. A local grassroots organization that became known as S.O.S. (Save Our Sandstones) worked to raise funds and saved the building from demolition.

March 1997: A clean-up of the interior began to remove the fallen roof and rock inside the building.

2001: S.O.S. then sold the building to Paul Amundson who set out to restore the building and began working on it himself.

January 2020: The building was again condemned by the City of Hot Springs following an Inspection Warrant that was executed. The warrant was in part to ensure the building’s stability in relation to the pending Hwy 385 road reconstruction, along with concerns by the adjoining landowner whose building was attached to the Wesch-Oak.