~by Chuck Offenburger for the Greene County Historical Society
Nick and Annette Foster, owners for about a year now of the Mason House hotel in Jefferson, will share fascinating stories they’ve learned about their 130-year-old guest house when the Greene County Historical Society meets Friday, June 7, at the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson.
Located at 502 E. Lincoln Way, the hotel opened in 1889 primarily to serve passengers on the north-south railroad coming through Jefferson. Today, it’s still serving a lot of visitors — those who are arriving on bicycles on the Raccoon River Valley Trail, which now occupies the former railroad route, and others who are driving to the community.
The Fosters, who live in Jefferson and farm just outside town, bought the hotel from previous owners Dr. Jim and Nancy Teusch, also of Jefferson. The Teusches had called the hotel, which they renovated a decade ago, the Old Lincolnway Hotel, but the Fosters decided to restore usage of its original name, the Mason House hotel.
The Fosters are well-known among history buffs in the area, as they also host the annual Old-Fashioned Threshing Bee at their farm on a weekend in late July. And Nick Foster is on the board of directors of the Historical Society.
For the Historical Society event on June 7, there will be a lunch in the church hall at 12 noon, $8 for Historical Society members and $10 for others who are not members but would like to eat with the group. Historical Society members should RSVP about lunch to their community contacts right away, and others who want to have lunch should RSVP to board member Margaret Hamilton at 515-386-4408. The program at 1 pm is free and open to the public.
