In 1861, R.L. Rutherford started his own butcher shop at this site. The original building, owned by Mrs. Dodge, also served as a millinary. Later that year, the building was demolished during a devastating downtown fire so that neighboring homes could be saved. Circa 1900, Fred Whitehead built the Almont Hotel here. The building was later converted into Burley Hospital, which operated until 1927, when Muir Brothers purchased it for use as a funeral home. A chest from the Almont Hotel is in the Almont Community Historical Museum.