Through the Years: Southwest corner of 700 S and Main Street
F. Leland “Jim” and "Lee" and his wife Grace Thompson Seely moved from Park Valley to Brigham City due to the effects of the great depression. Eventually, Jim was able to purchase property on the southwest corner of 700 S and Main- a rather isolated spot at the time. He built a fruit stand and continued to buy land in the area, including an orchard.
When Bushnell Hospital was built during WWII, family members of the soldiers needed a place to stay. Jim built cabins, to fill this need, sporadically throughout the orchard. After the war, and with the abandonment of Bushnell, Jim eventually moved the cabins into a line, faced them with brick, and started the Seely Motel. Jim then added an office to the front of the family home. Over time, he added more space to rent to his growing motel. The old cabins were later replaced with rooms of newer construction. A road that ran behind the original line of cabins was known as “Grace Avenue,” named after Jim’s wife. It was made a “road” by Jim pouring the used oil from his gas stations on the road to keep the dust down. A portion of this former road is now the parking lot by Master Muffler.
Jim continued to add to his business ventures by buying and running several gas stations, including one on the corner where Little Caesar’s now stands. He later opened a cafe, “Maddie’s,” that was run by Irv Maddox. After Irv ran the café for a time, Jim and Irv built a new restaurant further south in Perry that was called “Maddox.” Jim also opened a grocery store called “Lynn’s,” named for Lynn Richman, a son-in-law. Maddie’s Canteen Cafe burned down and Lynn’s was demolished and J&D’s Family Restaurant now stands in their place. Jim sold the Seely Motel in the 1960s, though the name can still be seen on the marquis.
This information was gathered from a personal interview with Kent Seely, Jim’s son, and the life stories of Jim Seely, Kent’s brother.
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