Located In The Heart of Historic Cobalt
Cobalt Mining District National Historic Site of Canada

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© 2008 Silverland Inn & Motel

Our Inn ----in a Bank!

A step inside our Historic Inn is like taking a step back in time when it was originally designed to be the Bank of Ottawa, circa 1913, during the Cobalt Mining Camp heydays.  Today it retains the same warm Victorian charm with antique fixtures of a bygone era. Recent restoration work has restored the building to it’s original state and it is the only building of it’s kind in Northeastern Ontario. The Inn is a “ghostly” Inn, home to our resident ghost of whom is affectionately known as Hermie.  Hermie is a friendly spirit and tends to keep mostly to himself.  However, on occasion, Hermie will make his presence known to guests visiting Silverland.

The History of the Inn

Silverland Inn, which was originally the Bank of Ottawa, has a warm charming history …

Originally, the Town of Cobalt sold the property located at 7 Prospect Avenue to William R. Lowery & Emma Lowery for $1,000 on June 18, 1906.  The property was then sold in 1907 to the Bank of Ottawa for $4,500.00.  The Bank of Ottawa commenced business on May 24, 1907 in a three-storey frame building next to the Prospect Hotel. On August 9th, 1913, a devastating fire burns the neighbouring Prospect Hotel and gutted the bank (leaving only the vault intact).
 
Fire on August 9, 1913

Photo courtesy of Cobalt Mining Museum

The Bank of Ottawa announced in September that it planned to erect the “most up-to-date bank in the north”.  The Bank of Ottawa was rebuilt in a “two-storey building with fireproof cement walls and a handsome pressed brick front with stone trimmings.  The bank building was designed in a modified medieval style, akin to the “Stockbroker” then popular with architects.  The dressed stone cornice was originally topped by crenellations; their removal is the only alternation to the façade.

After rebuilding, lawyers Joe Mulholland and John Allen occupied an office above the bank.  In 1919, the Bank of Ottawa merges with the Bank of Ottawa.  The official transfer of deed occurred on July 23, 1919.  In 1943, the Bank of Nova Scotia ceased operating as a bank in Cobalt.

Bank of Ottawa Circa 1913

On February 23, 1945, the Bank of Nova Scotia sells the building to Silanco Mining & Refining Corporation for $2,500.00.  7 Prospect Avenue has been home to Ansil Resources Ltd., Cobalt Consolidated, and Agnico-Eagle Mines.  

 By way of By-Law No. 78-33, on March 27, 1979, the building at 7 Prospect Avenue became designated as a “historical site for reasons of architectural value interest”. 

 Agnico-Eagle Mines ceases their mining and exploration operations in Cobalt and transfers the building/property to the Corporation of the Town of Cobalt for $1.00 on September 22, 1999.  After this, the building sat empty and abandoned until the fall of 2001, when it, along
with the surrounding land was purchased and converted into an Inn by Silverland Ltd, creator Nina (Chitaroni) Chamaillard.

 During the 2003, Centennial Celebrations of the Discovery of Silver in Cobalt, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) unveiled a mural depicting OPP then and now along the side of the Silverland Building. 

 The Inn is a “ghostly” Inn, home to our resident ghost of whom is affectionately known as Hermie.  Hermie is a friendly spirit and tends to keep mostly to himself.  However, on occasion, Hermie will make his presence known to guests visiting Silverland. 

 Today, the friendly and helpful staff at Silverland is pleased to be your hosts during your next visit to Cobalt and Area.