Cooleemee's Riverside Hotel stood 133 yards west at the end of Cross Street overlooking the dam and shoals of the South Yadkin River. One of the town's earliest public buildings, it opened before the cotton mill was fully operating as a two-story wood-frame hotel with a front porch lined with rocking chairs. In August 1899 Samuel Jesse Tatum was cutting and milling timber for its construction, and by July 1900 residents were already living there. The 1900 Census identifies Virginia-born Ellen Griggs as the first hotel keeper, assisted by two sons and a daughter, with a staff that included cook Elvia Hill, waiter Paul Foster, and teamster Charles Hill. Early guests included wagon master Frank Hairston, quarry superintendent Jackson White, surveyor Hubbart Carvel, and machinists John Sutton and James Nanny. In the years that followed, the hotel became known for Southern hospitality, shining rooms with new paint, well-kept floors, high ceilings for summer comfort, and a first-class dining room serving well-prepared food on white linen with china and silver. Visiting mill officials and traveling salesmen were frequent guests, including mill company president Mr. W. A. Erwin of Durham, N.C., and many of Cooleemee's school teachers boarded there because it was only a short walk or drive to work via Cross Street. The mill also held many of its 25-Year Club banquets there for retiring employees, and groups such as the Cotton Club used its dining room for events. A succession of managers continued its tradition of restful accommodations, fine cooking, and gracious dining, including Mary W. Wetmore in 1910, Julia F. Gilbreth by 1920, Mabel Tiller Alexander for many years, and later Hattie Moore, whose staff included Kelly Payne and Ruth Goodlett, known for her biscuits and chocolate pie. For many years guests also enjoyed the steady roar of the river over the nearby dam, until the mill company demolished the hotel in the 1960s.