In 1807, James Kinsey paid the Crown $200 for the 200-acre parcel of land designated as Lot 10, concession 8.  In 1810, John A. Haight purchased the land from Mr. Kinsey for the same amount.  In 1821, Samuel and Rufus Birchard, two Quaker brothers from Vermont, purchased the land, also paying $100 per acre. They divided the lot in half, along what is now Centre street but, at that time, was an Indian trail.  Samuel took the east part and Rufus, with his wife Electa, took the west portion. The eastern part, Samuel’s segment, has been subdivided gradually over the years and the present hotel site consists of slightly less than one-quarter of an acre. 

The Royal Oak Hotel sits at the top of the hill, on the southeast corner of Centre Street and Mount Albert Road, overlooking the village of Mount Albert and the surrounding countryside.  The original owner was George Stokes.  The original proprietor was John C. McKeown.

In 1838, George Stokes, the former owner of “The Bakers Arms”, a tavern in Portsmouth England, settled his family in Birchardtown, now called Mount Albert.  Mr. Stokes arrived with a license to operate a hotel. 

It is not known if he bought this building or had it built.  The original building was made from very thick local red pine using a plank-on-plank construction method.  

It is believed that this hotel was originally called the Albion Hotel.  It is not known when the name was changed to the Royal Oak.

His eldest son, John T. Stokes, who had remained in England to complete his training as 

an architect and engineer, rejoined the family in 1849.  In 1854, John helped his father renovate the original building, probably by adding an expansion and a ballroom to the south end.  Many important social events of the year were held at the hotel.

On December 17, 1856 a fire destroyed much of the hotel.  According to the ERA Banner, “It appeared that a band box was accidentally left against a stovepipe and caught fire. The fire spread to bed clothes and over $3,000 damage was done to the building.”

According to the 1867 census, the Hotel’s proprietor was John McKeown and George Stokes owned the hotel.  Sometime later the McKeown family purchased the property.  John McKeown’s son, Stafford, took over in 1894.  John McKeown passed away in 1895.

The Uxbridge Journal of November 29^th 1894 states, “The Royal Oak Hotel has been undergoing repairs outside and inside; and it looks more like a town hotel now that it has been clothed with a fine coat of red brick with white corners.  The young proprietor is to be congratulated for his tidiness and cleanliness.”  

In 1910, the south half of the building was removed and moved to the property just east of the original building.  Compare the picture on the top right to the one above and you will see that the south half of the building, the portion south of the bay window has been removed.  It was possible to move this portion because it had no basement and was of a wooden construction that was easily moved.

If you look closely at the west side of the house just east of the Royal Oak Hotel, the building in the picture on the bottom right, you can see that the structure matches the south portion that was removed.

Since the 1910 renovation, the building has been a private residence.  

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