One of the largest hotels in the area once stood on this corner. Built in 1838, the National rose when Jerseyville was in its infancy, before Jersey County had been founded, and was one of only a handful of businesses on State Street. In its early years, it was an upscale hotel serving politicians, lawyers, and other high-class travelers, and it was also rumored to be a stop on the Underground Railroad. By the turn of the century, the aging hotel still offered 20 sleeping apartments and ground-floor saloon and sample room parlors. In 1901, a small fire behind the hotel quickly consumed the massive wooden building and three adjacent businesses, destroying them all. The present structure was built the next year for the National Dry Goods store. In 1903, John Bertman became store manager and later bought out his partners. After his death in 1928, his family renamed the business Bertman's Dry Goods and Clothing Store, later shortened to Bertman's, which remained a fixture in Jerseyville's business district for nearly 85 years until Bob and Karen Bertman retired in 1999.