John Griffith, president of the Historic Shepherdstown Commission stands next to Carol Asam, president of the Shepherdstown Visitors Center, which will relocate to the hotel's Morgan Gallery this month. Photo by Michael Theis/Chronicle

Starting today the Shepherdstown Visitors’ Center will begin moving from its location near the Lost Dog Coffee Shop to the Morgan Gallery of the historic Entler Hotel on East German Street.

“It’s an excellent idea to have the Visitors’ Center centrally located on main street.” Said Historic Shepherdstown Commission president John Griffith. “We thought that was a win-win.” A grand opening and open house are planned Feb. 9.

The HSC manages the Entler which it leases from the Corporation of Shepherdstown.

According to estimates by the executive committe of the HSC, the deal will increase rental income by 85 percent. The Visitors Center will provide the HSC with a dependable stream of rental income, bringing in $8,400 a year until 2012 when the rent increases to $9,000 annually.

According to a letter from Griffith sent to members of the HSC, The decision to lease the front meeting room of the historic hotel was necessary because of a decline in rental income from the Entler’s public spaces, a decline he chalked up to the recession and a decline in student art show rentals resulting from the availability of free exhibit spaces at Shepherd University.

The Morgan Gallery is located at the front corner of the Entler Hotel closest the intersection of East German and Princess streets. The rear meeting room and the garden will remain available for event rental.

According to documents filed with the National Register of Historic Places, The Entler Hotel, also known as Rumsey Hall, dates back to 1786 when a home belonging to Christian Cookus was built on the property. That structure burned to the ground in 1912, but the large Federal style hotel stands to this day. The Entler was one of the first two locations in Jefferson County to get telephone service in 1898.