The Stephenson Hotel dates from 1881 when it was the Luona Hotel. Around 1889 it became Linville Hotel and in 1952 it became the Stephenson’s Hotel. It was the bus stop Continental American Bus Lines
Here’s a history Maryville Daily Forum April 21, 1952 when the Stephensons bought it.
New Stephenson Hotel Has Long History. Lobby Fireplace. Some 80 Years. The brick building dates back to 1881. The only thing kept the same was the fireplace in the by and the high ceiling. It was first called the Luona Hotel. Most people remember it as just the Linville. It was first called the Luona when it was built and opened in April 1881. F. M. Cooper and Cyrus Glasgow were the first proprietors of the hotel. It was named after one of Mr. Cooper’s children, Luona, and initially cost $30,000. It changed to Linville sometime between 1882 and 1889. It is not clear where the name came from. In 1889, Theodore Robinson of Nodaway Valley Bank acquired it. The Robinsons owned it until 1952, when they sold it to Stephenson, who continued to own the Bainum Hotel (which they acquired in 1947)
The Maryville Daily Forum 1949, May 27, Page 1 (when Stephenson originally bought Bainum hotel)
The purchase of the Bainum makes ten hotels that the Stephenson family owns in this area. His brother. A. M. Stephenson. owns: Grand in Nebraska City and the Weaver Hotel and White City tourist court in Falls City. Another brother. A. F. Stephenson. owns the North American and the Nelson in Ottawa, Kas. His sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Lee Luke, own the Dale and the Sunset motor court in Holdredge. Neb., and his mother, Mrs. Stella Stephenson, owns the Clifton in Freemont. The Stephensons, before coming to Maryville, owned a hotel in Auburn. Neb.. and managed hotels in Chicago for ten years.
Obituary for O.W. “Steve” Stephenson, Sept. 12, 1966, Maryville Daily Forum
Funeral services for W. “Steve” Stephenson will be held at 10 a. m—Wednesday at Atchison Funeral Home, where the community can gather to honor his life and legacy. The Rev. F. Hauser Winter will conduct the services, with burial in the Calvary Cemetery, Fremont, Neb. The family will meet friends at the funeral home from 7:30 to 9 p. m. Members of the Lions Club, of which Stephenson was a longtime member and past president, will meet tonight and Tuesday at 9:45 p.m. at the Eral home, as noted by Lions Club president Merlin Carstenson. He was married to the former Miss Veronica Stoltenberg in Nebraska City, Neb., on June 28, 1942. Survivors besides his wife of the home are two brothers, Oren Stephenson, Fremont, and A. Mi Stephenson, Nebraska City, Neb., and a sister, Mrs. L. He was born Aug. 15, 1901, in Smithfield, Neb., the son of Ben and Steve Robbins Stephenson. Stephenson attended the Nebraska School for the Blind and the University of Nebraska and graduated from Midland College, Fremont, in 1924 with AB and BS degrees, demonstrating his dedication to education and personal growth. He moved to Maryville on May 1, 1940, after studying music in Chicago and giving violin and voice lessons, establishing his new life there. Mrs. Stephenson bought the old Linville Hotel in 1947, remodeled it, and changed the name to Stephenson Hotel in 1950. They have operated both of the hotels since then. Stephenson was also a member of the IOOF, the Elks, the Masons, and the Shrine.
Orville W. Stephenson Birth 15 Aug 1901 Bertrand, Phelps County, Nebraska, USA Death 11 Sep 1966 (aged 65) Missouri, USA Burial Calvary Cemetery Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska, USA Findagrave
Veronica Margaret Stoltenberg Stephenson Birth 5 Aug 1910 Colfax County, Nebraska, USA Death 14 Mar 1979 (aged 68) Nodaway County, Missouri, USA Burial Calvary Cemetery Fremont, Dodge County, Nebraska, USA Findagrave
