The Susie Agnes Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is an intact example of a turn-of-the-century commercial and hotel building typically constructed in a small Georgia community. The building is the design of W.D. Calvin, a local Morgan County architect / builder who also designed several other buildings in Bostwick. The building was originally used as both hotel and commercial space and as a meeting space for the local Masonic Lodge.
Expecting continued growth and prosperity in the city, founder, John Bostwick, Sr. constructed the Susie Agnes Hotel in 1902 to house the growing number of traveling salesmen, or "drummers," who came through town, visiting the supply company, and also the oil press. The hotel was reportedly named for Bostwick's wife, Susie, and his sister, Agnes.
Bricks for the hotel were made from clay from Bostwick's own property. Two stories in height, the hotel followed the convention of smaller hotels of the era. Apparently, only the upper floor was used for hotel rooms. Nine rooms opened off the central hallway. The original kitchen, dining area, and lobby were located on the ground floor along the northwest side. Additional rooms, apparently used for an apartment for the hotel manager and his family, were also on the ground floor. Bathrooms were located at the rear on both the ground and upper floors. The rear of the second floor was devoted mainly to a Masonic Hall, which Bostwick, an active Mason, provided for the local lodge. A separate staircase provided access from the alley to the southeast.
The southeast side ground floor was used for commercial purposes from the beginning. The space consisted of a single room, separated from the original hotel lobby, kitchen and dining room by a plank partition wall. The store was conceived of by John Bostwick, Sr. as a provision store - a use that continued under various owners through the 1970s. Under and with rail-mounted ladders, most of which remain in place today. There was also a screened store office window, at one time located near the entrance, dating from approximately 1915 but now moved to the rear of the lower floor. A well to the north provided water, pumped by a small engine to a steel cistern above. Water was then supplied by gravity to both the floors of the adjacent hotel.