McCook hotel accomodations in 1897

Before I get to the point, I want to clear up something I wrote about a while back. When McCook became the county seat of Red Willow County, the courthouse had not been built yet, but the records had to go somewhere. I thought that they were housed in the building on the corner of Norris and West C Street, but when researching an entirely different subject, I referred back to the 1889 Sanborn Map of McCook and found that the Phillips-Meeker building was what I now refer to as the Hansen bldg., and has also been known as the Kelly bldg., now housing in the north section, McCook Abstract. In the 1889 Sanborn map, the county offices are noted to be in that building, while the City of McCook jail and some offices were housed in the west end of Mousel, Brooks, Schneider & Mustion Law offices.

How may hotels could McCook possibly need in 1897? It seems it needed quite a number of them and sadly, only one of the buildings still stands today.

You might wonder why 6 hotels were built in a town as new as McCook (15 years old in 1897), but you have to remember that quite often the rooms were rented on a monthly basis for newly-weds, salesmen, railroaders, and people searching for land or building a home.

The newest then and touted as the best, was of course, the Commercial House, which spanned three city lots on the Northeast corner of Norris Ave and East C Streets. Built of wood, the Commercial house was three stories high and boasted that it was heated by steam, had electric lights, free busing within the city and of all things “Hot and Cold Water Baths”! The Commercial burnt to the ground and Brown’s Shoes sits on one of the lots it once occupied.

Two blocks to the west in the approximate area of Ace Hardware, sat the Central Hotel. As far as newspaper articles, the Central was usually only mentioned as a reference to where Smith’s livery and stable was located, but in 1898 the McCook Tribune noted that: “Emmett Morrow is making extensive improvements to his three houses in the rear of the Central hotel over on west Dodge street (C Street today). Some additions are being made to the buildings, and they are being generally overhauled and made inhabitable and comfortable.” This building no longer exists.

On the east end of what was DeGroff’s, sat the Windsor Hotel. Small by comparison to the others, the only claim to fame as far as newspaper notes, the Windsor made the paper as a reference to Dr. L.J. Spickelmier, M.D., Physician and Surgeon with special attention given to female diseases. His ad in the McCook Tribune in 1887 says his office hours were 9-11A.M., 2-4 P.M., Mountain time at his office opposite the Windsor Hotel on East Dennison (today’s B Street). I don’t know if this building was absorbed by DeGroff’s over time or was destroyed and the DeGroff’s building expanded.

The Arlington House was located on East Dennison also but on the North side on what is now the car lot for Wagner Chevrolet. The Arlington made the McCook Tribune quite often but again, mostly as a reference for the location of nearby businesses. In 1889 they were seeking, “A good cook, male or female, is wanted at once at the Arlington House”. Another 1889 article mentioned that, “Conductor J. C. Jetmore and bride have gone to keeping house in the R.R. Woods dwelling north of the Arlington House”. This structure is gone.

The St. Charles Hotel was the last to be destroyed. Known in its’ later days as the McCook Hotel, it sat on the northwest corner of today’s West 2nd and B Streets, across from today’s Napa store. Mentioned often as a meeting place for several women’s groups, the St. Charles had a dining room that was accessed off of West 2nd. This building was demolished, exposing all the doors in the basement leading to other buildings in downtown McCook.

Still standing is the original Palace Hotel. The Palace was the replacement for the railroad rooming house which was destroyed by fire. While it had no dining room, the workers could eat at the B & M Railroad dining hall just a few steps south. Robert Byers owned the Palace and in 1896 he took over the Commercial Hotel from A. Erb who was seriously ill at the time. Byers managed both properties. The Palace still stands today on the east side of Norris Ave. While the 1889 Sanborn shows it at 109 Main, the building at 111 has also always been shown to be a hotel on the upper floors so it will take some more research to determine for certain which building is the original Palace.

SWNGS annual Christmas Party will be this Saturday at 1 PM. The public is welcome to attend. Located at 110 West C, Suite M-3, there is an elevator for those who need assistance.