About the Developers

The Knox Hotel renovation is a big project requiring many hands. All of these hands are being coordinated by our family, the Stiers, via our company Stier Properties, Inc. The Knox is our first and only focus of our passion for history.

Listen to the Story

Kelsey joined the Bright and Bubbly podcast to share the story of how the idea for the Knox Hotel came to be. Listen to the two-part interview below.

Talking Princeton Podcast

We joined host Jim Gassen on the Talking Princeton podcast to discuss how this all started, what’s happening now, and what the future looks like for the Knox. Listen below!

Meet the Stiers

Dane is a native of Princeton. He graduated from Princeton High School in 2010, and then attended Northwestern University, where he received his Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Master’s in Computer Science. After college, he joined Teach for America as a high school math teacher on the south side of Chicago.  

Kelsey grew up in the bustling Detroit suburb of Southfield, Michigan. She attended Palm Beach Atlantic University and earned her Bachelor’s in Biology. She also joined Teach for America as a high school science teacher in Chicago, and soon after met Dane.

Together, we continued teaching for two years in Chicago, before relocating to Peoria. We officially became “The Stiers” after getting married in 2018, and soon after bought a house in Princeton. In 2019, we welcomed our son, Phineas, to our family.

Currently, Kelsey is a high school teacher at an alternative school in Chillicothe. Dane works as a Web Coordinator at OSF HealthCare.

Our Interests

First and foremost, we have a passion for God. Our family attends Christ Community Church in Princeton, and we have leaned heavily on God’s guidance with this project. He has shut many doors for us, but with the Knox Hotel, He continues to open doors and encourages us to move forward.

Secondly, we love “classics,” from songs and movies, to antique furniture and old-time traditions. Our go-to movies overlap in the “black and white” age with favorite actors like Jimmy Stewart and Judy Garland. We both have many antique furniture pieces (though different styles), and Dane regularly refinishes pieces from top to bottom. We have around 100 vinyl records that we often listen to in the evenings.

We also love history, especially the history of Princeton. It holds a special place for Dane, and Kelsey has continued to fall more and more in love with the town since first visiting in 2016. Dane has worked significantly with the Bureau County Historical Society over the past year, learning more about the amazing history, and our goal one day is to live in and restore a historic home in Princeton.

Lastly, we love working with people. As teachers, it is/was all about the connections. Every person you meet and every conversation you have has something positive to offer.

We are exceedingly thrilled about our next chapter of life as patrons of the Knox Hotel!