The prominent Lard family helped Lizzie Lard build the Cottage Hotel to support her two daughters after she was widowed 1893; it was completed in 1895. As Miami became the county seat and a regional trade center, the hotel prospered. Its parlor was popular as a meeting site for local businessmen and a social gathering place for young people. Dr. Pryor Lee Shelton bought the property in 1906, renaming it the Commercial Hotel. In 1914, Tom Graham, manager of the competing Fitch Hotel, bought the Commercial Hotel and called it the Survant for his wife, Eva Survant. They operated the establishment for fifty years, holding banquets, reunions and other social events in the dining room until 1964. From 1973 to 1993 the building served as a residence, but in the early 1990s it was restored to its original function as an inn.
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