Robertson's General Store

This corner property had originally been purchased by James E. Orr in 1863. A year later, with little if any development taking place, he sold it to his brother Wesley F. By 1865, James repurchased the lot and erected a frame store where he acted as merchant. A general store and post office were located here until a sales agreement was made with Schuyler Teeple in 1872. The building was added to and converted to a hotel. The hotel was sold c.1874 to the Elliott family, who resold it to James Patterson April of 1874.

Under Patterson's proprietorship, the hotel became known as the Union Hotel, until it was burned to the ground in the great Lynden fire of October 1877. Despite the fact that James had been uninsured, a new frame hotel was constructed on the site by the new year. By December of 1880 the property was being offered for sale by public auction, to be held at those premises in January of 1881. It was described as a three storey structure operating under the name Maple Leaf Hotel. It was purchased by John Pitton, who was keeping a hotel in Troy, Ontario.

The hotel stayed in the Pitton family, passing on to John's son Nelson in late 1888, until July 1891, when it was sold to James Chambers of Caledon East. It went back to Nelson Pitton in 1894, who then sublet the premises. Pitton moved to Welland, and the hotel came under the ownership of Thomas Kivell in 1898.

The old hotel was then used as a boarding house and Masonic Hall. Come September of 1906, the property was purchased by George Pririe, who had the lower floor reworked into a grocery store kown as the Maple Leaf Store. This grocery store served Lynden under various ownership until sold to Donald G. and Lillie Sutherland in 1923.

The Sutherlands kept a grocery store supplying the community with various goods. The post office was conducted out of this store from 1923 until relocated to the new location in 1973. Just a couple years later John B. and Agnes Robertson purchased the business and property, commencing a 35 year storekeeping tradition that terminated with John's death in 1960. Agnes sold the property to her son Donald, who carried on the business until selling it in 1964. The old frame store was removed in 1962, replaced by the present day cement block building.