Fonds

The Saint Lawrence Hall Hotel, located at 13 Great Saint James St. in Montréal, was opened in 1851. The owner was Henry Hogan (d.1902) who was involved in other business enterprises including the Royal Albert Bridge Co. In 1855 Hogan became a lieutenant in the Montréal Field Battery and later served as the militia unit's colonel. As one of the leading hotels of Montréal, the St. Lawrence Hall had many prominent guests, including the Prince of Wales (in 1861), Charles Dickens, John A. Macdonald and George Brown. During the 1850s the hotel served as the headquarters for Grand Trunk Railway contractors and for many years was the social center for the Montréal Hunt Club.

(Source: Guide to Archival Resources at McGill University: Private Papers at McGill University. McGill University Archives. 1985. Vol. 2, p. 184.)

St. Lawrence Hall was also the Confederate headquarters in Montreal. It was supposedly the only hotel in the Canadas to serve mint juleps, according to "Canada and the United States: The Civil War Years" by Robin Winks.