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The Aledo House, The Barton Building, The Button House, The Hotel                                                               Livermore, The Mercer House, The Mercer Building and now Maple                                                                          City Candy Co. and The Livermore.

This fine building is one of Aledo's prominent land marks and links to                                                                               its past. It was built one hundred fifty years ago in 1857 and was                                                                               known for years as the largest building in the Military Tract. (The                                                                            Military Tract was a portion of land given to the veterans of the War                                                                               of 1812.) It has been used as a hotel, business offices and retail stores.                                                                     Even the Aledo Post Office was housed here at one point.

Aledo's town founder, Judge John S. Thompson and Levi Willits knew their town would need a hotel. After establishing the community in 1855 they erected this structure in 1857 for a cost of $15,000. It would be a hotel to house business travelers soon to arrive on the planned railroad to be built just a block south of the hotel. The founders knew visitors would be flocking to the new city as it was soon to be designated as the seat of Mercer County government. All those associated with the founding of this new city, in the almost exact geographic center of Mercer County, had an optimistic feeling that the new community of Aledo was positioned for future growth and grandeur. D. N. Barton was hired from the Moline House to manage the new hotel. Soon it was being called the "Barton House".

The Building opened in the fall of 1857 with a well attended ball. Called the Aledo House or Barton House, the December 27, 1857 party was the first of many occasions in the social life of Aledo to be held at the hotel. By 1859 the restaurant was receiving rave reviews in most part because of the expertise of Chef Brown. Mr. Brown was an African American and his menu attracted many from far and near.

In the later part of 1860 the facility closed for about 2 years. Perhaps the expected travelers did not show up due to the long delayed cnstruction of the railroad through the new community. It was reopened in 1863 by Amos Willits and then to Mr. G. A. Luvin. In 1866 the building became the property of Mr. Schuyler Button and the name was changed to the Button House. Even today the locals still refer to this building as the Button House.

The hotel's location at the corner of College Avenue and Main Street was the heart of the city and a popular place for residents to congregate. Old photographs of parades and other community festivals were set in front of the structure which formed a backdrop for the activity. Women in white gowns and men in suit coats are seen walking the wooden sidewalks in front of this imposing hotel. It is said that the news that the Civil War had ended was heard first right here on the street in front of this building.

A short time after Mr. Button took possession of the building, the structure caught fire and was destroyed. The fire which began in the upper portion of the building, happened on Saturday, November 16, 1867 and did $10,000 damage. The walls were badly damaged and were taken down. Before the fire spread much was pulled from the building and saved. In fact, the sheriff's coat hanging in a room was saved, but the $60 in one of the pockets was never located. The ten year old building was insured for $2,000 and $600 covered the contents. The Aetna insurance agent, W. S. Chenaweth of Oquawka, Illinois presented Mr. Button a check for $2,600 in December 1867. Mr. Button was determined to rebuild.

Soon workers were busy clearing away the rubbish and the foundation was rebuilt. T. W. Watson, who built six stone homes in Mercer County laid the limestone foundation you see out fron today. Soon brick was being laid on top of the limestone. The brick was said to have been handmade by Mr. Button at a brickyard in southeast Aledo. The building was to be 50 x 64 feet and four stories high, and would contain the same number of rooms as the old hotel did.

Eventually the "new" Button House regained its stature as the principal hotel in Aledo and the place where Aledo's society would meet. Many money raising church suppers were served here; for instance, to raise funds to build the Methodist Episcopal Church parsonage a festival was held here on Christmas Eve or 1868.

A few days later, on December 31, 1868, party goers danced to the Lloyds string band in the ballroom at the New Year's Eve Ball. The $3 ticket allowed partrons to dance and dine. $155 proftit was realized that evening. Yes, the Button House was the social scene for Aledo and the surrounding community.

A tragic note was that a Suez township man, J. S. Edwards, died in his sleep in early March of 1869 while staying with a friend at the hotel. In addition a destructive tornado hit Aledo during June of 1877 and tore the steeple off the nearby United Presbyterian Church and did other damage around the community. Many of the upper story windows at the Button House were broken by the violent winds.

In the late 1890's H. J Livermore completely renovated the building, having it repainted and repapered, fitted with new furniture and electrical lights brightened the entire building. In addition to managing the Hotel Livermore, he also leased another Aledo hotel, known as The Transit House. The Transit House was a wooden frame structure at the corner of South College and Southeast Second Street, where the former Standard Gas Station stands today.

In 1902 Archibald McKinney took ownership of the Button House. Perhaps because of the competition of the newly built Merchant's Hotel, Mr. McKinney was determined to remodel the building into commercial retail store on the first floor and offices on the upper stories. Large plate glass windows were installed along College Avenue on the first floor. The Aledo post office moved into the southeast corner; retail offices and professional people, such as doctors and attorneys were located upstairs. At this time the structure was renamed the Mercer Building and the remodeling drastically changed the outward appearance of Aledo's most prominent structure.

In 1925, Howard Stevenson acquired the property from the heirs of Archibald McKinney for $16,000. Mr. Stevenson constructed the annex on the west side of the building. This annex housed retail shops and today Roger Murphy's The Goldsmith shop is located in it.

John Kesinger purchased the imposing, but badly deteriorating structure in 2004 from the City of Aledo. Mr. Kesinger has personally restored the building back to its former glory investing nearly $1 million.