In the annals of Warwick history is the tale of an elaborate hotel, a fire and two squabbling ladies.

The Lake View House was an upscale establishment that stood on the banks of Warwick Pond. It attracted overnight guests from all tiers of society.

In July of 1892, famed burlesque actress Kate Castleton was staying there when she died during the night from the effects of typhoid pneumonia. In the prime of life, she was suddenly gone. Five years later, the hotel itself would be gone, less than a decade after it was built.

The owner of the hotel, Letitia Canning, was well known at town meetings. Numerous times over the years, she had gone before the town council to complain about the “Dead Horse Man” who ran a nearby animal processing plant. She reported that, often, the smell of rotting and boiling flesh was so bad, her dinner parties had to be broken up. Finally, in 1894, when the town informed Canning that the owner had a license to run such a business, she threatened that she would not renew her hotel license if he was allowed to continue his disgusting practice.

The Dead Horse Man eventually found a new location for his processing plant and Canning kept the hotel running. Then, one Tuesday night in March of 1897, the hotel caught fire and its occupants were nearly suffocated by the smoke. Canning was inside at the time with three other people when the flames broke out. The $5,000 building was reduced to ash, along with $5,000 worth of furnishings. Canning also lost $900 in cash as well as personal valuables.

The following year, she rebuilt the business at the same location. This hotel, as well as the previous one, was mortgaged to 42-year-old Ellen (Isgear) Owen. After the new hotel went up, problems with transferring the mortgage and obtaining new insurance caused a great deal of friction between the two women and they squared off in court.

According to legal documents, Owen stated that she and her husband had to watch Letitia night and day as they were afraid she would burn the new hotel down.

“You don’t know this woman,” she testified. “She burned her last house and I’m afraid she will burn this one.”

Canning was furious that Owen would accuse her of burning the hotel so that she could collect the insurance and she filed a slander suit.

“The property burned down very mysteriously,” Owen argued. “She burned it down before and she would again if she got the chance.”

The court ruled that the statements did not constitute slander.

The Owens apparently had much to worry about. Two months before the fire, Ellen’s husband, Pryce, had filed for insolvency, being unable to pay his debts. The 49-year-old Welshman owned Owen’s English Bakery in Olneyville Square, manufacturing ice cream, baked goods and confections, maintaining a dining parlor and offering catering services.

The Owens had separate investments and, by the fall of 1908, were not agreeing on matters. Pryce went ahead and petitioned the court to appoint him as the legal guardian of his 54-year-old wife. He claimed that she was incapable of taking care of her property, valued at about $20,000. The court didn’t like the idea, as it was evident that the couple’s interests in the property were conflicting. The court did agree, however, to name another man as her legal guardian.

The couple divorced a few years later and, in 1913, Pryce married Eva Homer. Ellen moved to Providence where she lived alone and worked as a milliner. It isn’t known what became of Letitia Canning.

As for the Lake View House, it went up for public auction in June 1899. The contents were numerous and included a piano, sleigh and buggy, five mattresses, an oak hall tree, a bronze clock, a carved mahogany bedstead, a silver soup tureen, four fish pictures, many chairs, carpets, artwork and drapery.

Kelly Sullivan is a Rhode Island columnist, lecturer and author.