The family of Robert King settled in the Waterford area in 1795. Thomas King, his son, and Ebenezer Evans, a master builder, built the Eagle Hotel in 1826 out of quarried stone from the Waterford area. It became known as The Stone Hotel. Two fires could not destroy this hotel which had become a social site for politicians, dignitaries, and the elite populace. President Zachary Taylor was among its guests.