Oldest building in Pioneer saved

The old­est build­ing in Pio­neer, the Joy Hotel, has been saved from the wreck­ing ball. Michael Wor­thing­ton has bought the build­ing with dona­tions from res­i­dents in Williams County.

Now Wor­thing­ton will shore up the build­ing built in 1855 and try to ren­o­vate so it can be used as a viable loca­tion for busi­ness. Wor­thing­ton said he’ll pur­sue grants to make that hap­pen, and expects it to take some time.

Wor­thing­ton said he will prob­a­bly work on sta­bi­liz­ing and secur­ing the build­ing him­self and will look into area con­trac­tors for the remain­ing of the work once fund­ing is secured.

He was unsure what will go into the build­ing once it is ren­o­vated, but said he wanted to make sure it would be able to sus­tain itself and remain a viable busi­ness in Pioneer.