Current home of BEGER & BUSHIE LAW OFFICE
110 E. Fifth Street (Block 12)
On the south side of Block 12, Lot 4 was the site of Salem’s first house. The house was built of logs by John S. (Sid) Wingfield. Sid harvested his logs near the “cut” before anything was there. At that time the area was government land. Sid transported the logs to the building site by a team of oxen. On a personal note, Sid was the man who on January 10, 1909 pushed the switch that turned the lights on in the city of Salem for the first time. He was the oldest citizen of Salem at that time. After Sid, Mrs. Keitner had a baker on this site.
On November 26, 1925 James Hunt began construction of the Ozark Hotel. The hotel was first managed by M. Goacher. On June 19, 1947 fire swept thru the Ozark Hotel. Lonnie Nelson, operator of the hotel, noticed fire in the rear room east wing of the hotel about 6:30 in the morning. The Salem Fire Department worked for three hours and controlled the blaze. Even though the hotel survived this fire it would not last. On a Thursday morning, March 21, 1957 at 3:00 the entire block went up in flames. This was the end of the Ozark Hotel.
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