|
From Bell’s History of Northumberland County 1891:
B. K. HAAG, merchant, was born, January 9, 1817, in Berks county, Pennsylvania, and is a
son of John and Mary C. (Knauss) Haag. His education was received in the subscription and
common schools. At the age of twenty-one years he left his father's farm to begin a
business life for himself, his first employment being in the general mercantile store of
Geddes, Green & Walls at McEwensville, this county, where he remained four years. Following
this were four years' service as a clerk in a general store in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In
1847 he came to Milton and formed a partnership with T. S. Mackey & Son, under the firm
name of Mackey & Haag, dry goods and hardware. At the expiration of two years Mr. Haag
withdrew from this connection and joined Montgomery Sweney, and for one year did a general
dry goods and grocery business, under the firm title of Sweney & Haag. After one year's
association with the concern of Haag & Caldwell, the stock was divided and Mr. Haag kept a
store for a period on the present site of the Milton National Bank. In 1853 he established
his present hardware and book store, which was conducted under the firm cognomen of Haag &
Brown until the panic of 1857, which compelled Mr. Haag to assume all responsibility of the
business, and since then he has been alone until joined by his son-in-law, John Buoy. In 1863
he purchased a lot south of his present hardware room, of Elizabeth Miller, and in 1865 erected
buildings on the same. In 1875 his business block was burned, rebuilt, and again burned in 1880,
and soon after rebuilt the second time. Besides this handsome brick block, he has constructed
many dwellings in the town of Milton, including the Hotel Haag, which magnificent structure was
erected in 1890 at a cost of over seventy-five thousand dollars, and opened up for business on
April 1, 1890. Mr. Haag was married, February 20, 1852, to Sarah Schuck, daughter of Philip and
Catharine (Diebert) Schuck. She was born July 19th, 1821 in Union county, Pennsylvania, and to
her union with Mr. Haag have been born six children: William A., deceased; Mary E., the wife of
John Buoy; Charles H., deceased; Sallie, deceased; Thomas J.; and Hettie, the wife of C. A. Chapin.
Mr. Haag was postmaster while at McEwensville and also trustee of school funds at the same place.
He was appointed one of the distributing committee of the relief funds after the great fire of
1880. He was a director of the National Bank of Milton from 1865 to 1875.
From The Milton Standard January 10, 1924: A. Berman and Sons bought the Hotel Milton, owned by Wolf Dreifuss. Berman said they will change the entire first floor into up-to-date store rooms, equipping the other three floors with modern offices and apartments. The building was owned by B. K. Haag about 1890 and was known as the Hotel Haag until it was purchased by Dreifuss in 1908. It was remodeled then and changed to the name Hotel Milton.
From The Milton Standard March 5, 1925: A. Berman and Sons leased the Hotel Milton to P. J. Enright, experienced hotel man. The entire interior of the hotel was to be refinished, repapered and refurbished. Work was to be completed by May 1.
A deed shows the hotel, after B. K. Haag’s death on sep. 4th, 1901, was owned by his daughter Mary Haag Buoy and her husband, John Y. Buoy. It was transferred on Feb. 19th, 1903, to Hettie Haag Chapin and her husband, Clarence A. Chapin. The Chapins sold it to Wolf Dreifuss on Aug. 3rd, 1908.
The dining room and parlor are shown below:
|
