The Del Monty: Rock Island’s historic hotel
The Del Monty hotel, a distinctive brick building that sits at the bottom of Dufferin Street in Rock Island, has stood for nearly a century.
Construction cones placed outside the building recently have locals wondering what’s to become of the historic landmark.
According to The Record archives, the Del Monty hotel is located where the Union House, the first hotel in Rock Island, once stood in the 19th century. In 1915, the Union House was damaged in a fire and replaced by the Rock Island House.
In 1924, the Monty family, natives of Granby, purchased the Rock Island House from Albert Cooper. In 1931, the hotel was badly damaged in a fire that left a large part of the building destroyed. The Monty family then built the Del Monty hotel between the years 1931 to 1933 to replace the Rock Island House.
In 1939, Mr. Monty died, and for eight years following his death, Mrs. Monty carried on the business with the help of her children.
In its early years, a majority of the hotel’s business was from commercial travellers and parents of students from Stanstead College and the Ursuline Convent. As more people began buying cars and taking vacations, the Del Monty hotel became a popular tourist attraction in the region. Moreover, during the war years, when rent prices skyrocketed, many people made the hotel their home, particularly those working in Canadian and American Customs and Immigration.
In 1955, after over 30 years of running the Del Monty hotel, the Monty family sold the hotel to two businessmen from Sherbrooke.
The most recent owner was Magog architect and developer, Marcel Hauben, who purchased the building in 2013, who had plans to bring a new life to the building. He did just that by hosting events such as an annual Christmas Market, a St. Patrick’s Day party, and an Easter Dance, creating an art and antique gallery, and even opening a temporary women’s clothing boutique.
Hauben ran the Del Monty hotel until his death in 2017, and the oncebustling hotel has since been empty.
Recently, construction cones were placed in front of the old hotel, which has left some local residents wondering what the future holds for the historic building that contains Rock Island’s history and identity within its brick walls.
Executive Director of the Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network and local historian, Matthew Farfan stated that the hotel, which was commonly referred to as “the Del, was a landmark in Rock Island for generations, and many people still talk about it today.”
Rachel Burnham, the Communications Coordinator for the town of Stanstead stated that she was not at the liberty to discuss the ongoing file further as it concerns private property and the confidentiality of the owner, she said the following: “I can say that local preventionists visited the property recently and have requested the building undergo a formal inspection to verify its overall condition.”
When the current owner of the Del Monty hotel, Jacques Hauben, Marcel Hauben’s son, was contacted, he said that he had no comment at this time.