The Exchange Hotel, was one of Caro’s oldest and most recognizable establishments. Built during the town’s formative years, it served as a key lodging and social hub for travelers and locals alike through the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With its distinctive two-story frame, striped awnings, and balcony, the hotel was a fixture on the streetscape and reflected the utilitarian yet welcoming style of small-town Michigan hotels of the era.
The Exchange was well known not only for its longevity but also for its colorful history. In April 1905, it gained notoriety when M.A. Burgess, a farmer from Isabella County, was brought to the hotel after a violent shooting. Burgess had been staying at the Exchange and went on a fishing trip with Robert Williams, a transient who had been lingering around the Mt. Pleasant depot. The trip ended in violence when Burgess was shot five times near the riverbank. Miraculously surviving the initial attack, Burgess was rushed back to the Exchange Hotel, where doctors tended to his critical injuries. The dramatic event drew significant local media attention, cementing the hotel’s place in Caro’s criminal lore.
The hotel’s troubles didn’t end there. Wm. Kile, the proprietor in the early 1900s, was arrested for selling liquor without a license after the village council refused to approve his bonds. Though he denied the charges, the incident added to the hotel’s reputation for being at the center of town intrigue.
By June 1920, the building had transitioned into a rooming house known as the Hotel Secor, reflecting the shift in the lodging industry as Caro evolved. The property’s long run came to a dramatic close when it was destroyed by fire, erasing one of Caro’s oldest and most storied landmarks.
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