In 1909, shortly after the railway arrived, George Stalker and his partner Howard Hudson spared no expense building the grand, three-storey Shellbrook Hotel on the corner of Railway Avenue and Main Street, directly across from the train station.
Originally from Portage la Prairie, Man., Stalker came to Prince Albert in 1896 where he worked for a time in the harness-making business before getting into the hotel business. He and W. E. Gladstone took over the Queen’s Hotel in Prince Albert; he later acquired the Royal Hotel in that city.
In 1905, Stalker in partnership with Hudson, built a three-storey hotel in Kinistino. Stalker assumed sole ownership of the Shellbrook Hotel in 1915, and eventually disposed of all his other hotel interests. He died in 1931 at age 56, and his widow, Anne Stalker, continued to run the hotel until 1941, when she sold it to Mr. and Mrs. James E. Bowles of Netherhill.
In March of 1935, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix reported that the 30-room Shellbrook Hotel was operated on the American plan, meaning meals were included in the room rate. “Mrs. Stalker and her assistants do everything to make the hotel a real home away from home,” the newspaper stated.
Prime Minister W.L. Mackenzie King clearly thought so when he stayed at the Shellbrook Hotel during the May 1945 federal election campaign. By that time, the hotel was owned and operated by George Laycock. “After dinner I went to my room and prepared the outline of a speech,” King wrote in his diary. “It was like old times to look out of the window and to see motor cars ranged on both sides of the road. ... I rested a few minutes on my back then went on to the hall, shaking hands with many people on the way.”
Just as he was exiting the Shellbrook Hotel, King encountered four-year-old Bobbie George. The Regina Leader-Postreported the prime minister smiled down at Bobbie and shook his hand. King then took the little boy’s arms and waved them to the small crowd on the Shellbrook street corner, saying, “I want you all to go home and tell your parents to vote for Mackenzie King,” making Bobbie one of the youngest campaigners for the prime minister.
Lou and Donna Dupuis bought the Shellbrook Hotel from Floyd and Evelyn Folden in 1978. Over the next two years, they added a steak pit and remodeled the guest rooms. The couple undertook a major expansion in 1990, building a 52- by 20-foot addition to accommodate a banquet room downstairs, a cocktail lounge on the main floor, and three more guest rooms. Dupuis told the Shellbrook Chroniclethat year the expansion was a necessary investment in the hotel.
“With the government pricing liquor out of sight, we just had to diversify with more rooms and in the food area,” he said. “When we first bought the hotel, a beer was 85 cents – now it is $2.40.”
In 2015, the Dupuis made more extensive changes to the exterior and interior of the Shellbrook Hotel. The building's red brick exterior was covered with smooth, brown stucco, and the hotel's restaurant was changed from Luigi's Steak Pit & Ribs to The Railhouse. There’s lots of variety on the menu along with traditional bar fare, including steaks, sandwiches and wings.
