Govan鈥檚 first hotel, the Silver Plate, was built by a Mr. Sherriff in 1908. It was an impressive, four-storey, wood frame structure, painted light yellow with dark brown trim, It could accommodate about 40 guests. According to a 1908 issue of the Govan Prairie News, it was built at a cost of $30,000 鈥渦nder the most difficult conditions known to pioneer life.鈥澛�
Every penny鈥檚 worth of material was drayed over raw prairie for more than 20 miles, much of it during weather that would freeze the proverbial monkey. Both Mr. Kinneard, the contractor, and the proprietors deserve unstinted praise for the undaunted energy lent to the project; many years after all are beneath the prairie sod, the building will stand as a fitting monument to prairie life in Last Mountain Valley.
The dining room could accommodate 100 guests, and was considered one of the most beautiful and spacious in the West at the time. 鈥淭he halls, waiting rooms, and offices are airy and well furnished,鈥� the 1908 Govan newspaper wrote. 鈥淭he bar has but few equals, being massively constructed with mahogany effect, presided over by C. L. Dalton, who is adept at suiting every taste.鈥澛�
The top storey of the hotel, with its dormer windows, was never finished. It served for a few years as a dormitory for bachelor homesteaders who wanted to live in town for the winter but couldn鈥檛 afford to pay for a proper room. Snow would sift into the fourth-floor beds during fierce Saskatchewan blizzards, making things uncomfortable for the temporary residents.聽
On Dec. 31, 1912, a fire broke out directly across the street from the Silver Plate Hotel. Fortunately, the town鈥檚 fire brigade was able to protect the hotel from the flying embers. According to Govan鈥檚 history book (1980), hotel manager Alf Lauder was so thankful the premises was saved, he opened the bar and offered free drinks for everyone, 鈥渨ith the result that a number of married men arrived home early in the morning in an advanced state of intoxication.鈥�
The Silver Plate was extensively used for banquets and various celebrations. On Saturday nights during the 1920s and 1930s, the dining room tables were cleared away for community dances. The hotel had a barbershop, a pool room, a bowling alley, and a sample room for travelling salesmen to display their wares.
In 1957, the unused fourth floor was removed to save on fuel costs, and a flat roof was constructed. Three years later, in 1960, the Silver Plate was destroyed by fire. Eighteen people escaped the building uninjured. Vince Kaskey, who had owned the hotel for only three months, had been building a beverage room onto the hotel to accommodate newly legalized mixed drinking. It had been scheduled to open a month after the hotel burned down.
Shortly after the fire, Floyd Rattray and Peter Roland Jr., together with their wives, built a two-storey hotel on the site of the old Silver Plate, naming it the Govan Hotel. The Regina Leader-Post reported that the wood building had 10 guest rooms upstairs, and a 100-seat beverage room, and a 38-seat restaurant on the main floor. Peter and his brother Albert ran the hotel until 1966. After that, it changed hands numerous times, with the name changing to the Govan Inn & Bar in 2009. Govan is located 190 km southeast of Saskatoon on Highway 20.
