In the early 1890s, M. Antoine Bertrand built the "Chat", as a hotel to accommodate passengers embarking at the station behind it, and its sister structure, Muir's Inn (see 903), which served the same purpose for steamboat passengers. The railroad had only recently been completed. Mike Dobbie, one of the current owners of the Willow Inn, got his start there in 1971 running "Dobbie's Diner". The hotel has been run by a succession of notable Hudson families - Metayer, Bertrand, Carriere, Seguin, and now Gale. Since the 1980s, the Gales have been maintaining the tradition of the hotel as an informal social centre for the village with a Pub quiz on Wednesday, a happy hour on Thursday, and live bands, comedians and other entertainers on the weekends.