historic western hotels

[patrick mark pazen]

HI folks and a the best of holiday wishes to all.

Just wondering what old historic western hotel is everyones favorite. There are still many out there adding flavor to the historic theme that many old towns offer.

MIne is the Historic Delaware Hotel in Leadville Colorado. This old hotel in my mind is a classical old hotel. I enjoy looking at the lobby with its original style. The rooms are all authentically old flavor. The building as one member has said must have taken a long time to build back then and will stand the test of time.

Makes one wonder just how many folks have passed thru the doors in all its years of existance/  

[patrick mark pazen]

sounds like a wonderfull part of our history, nice that you lived there and got to enjoy all that history has to offer in that part of the west

[3krcynyujeux8]

I have eaten in the Strater Hotel in Colorado and in the City Hotel in Columbia, California.  I plan to go back to the Mother Lode area and eventually stay at the Murphy's Hotel in Murphy's, the Leger Hotel in Mokelumne Hill, and the St. George Hotel in Volcano.  Unfortunately, many of the old-timers are gone.  I understand that the Rough and Ready Hotel photographed by Otheto Weston was demolished some years ago.  On reading the Abeloe edition of Historic Spots in California, I fell in love with a photograph of an old hotel near Riverbank in Stanislaus County.  I believe it was called the Walker's Ford Hotel, and I understand that it is no longer there.  See 'em while you can!

[Robert E Lee Hyde]

No, Margaret, I'm not acquainted with Walker's Ford on the Stanislaus.  After that tricky river got down in the flatlands it was usually shallow enough to ford, thereby making the fords much more numerous than the ferry services upriver, of which I believe there were only four.  The highest one was Parrotts Ferry, on the stage road from Columbia Diggins' leading up to Vallecito and Murphy's.  The next was Robinson's Ferry on what is now Hwy 49 between Sonora and Angels Camp.  The next was near the town of Copperopolis on another road to Angels Camp.  All these historic old ferry crossings are now underwater, under Melones Lake. (By the way, the name Melones is Spanish, meaning melons, or, more accurately melon seeds.  The gold nuggets taken from this strip of the Stanislaus were like watermelon seeds for some reason.  I still have a few I panned back inthe '60's before the lake filled)  The last of the old ferry crossings was as the Stanislaus nears the flatlands, just above Oakdale, that was Knight's Ferry.

PS Don't skip the old hotels in Coulterville and Jackson -- the names of which my increasing senility has taken away.

[3krcynyujeux8]

The One in Coulterville is called the Jeffrey Hotel; I think the one in Jackson is called the National Hotel.  Dig out Otheto's book; she  had a great shot of the Jeffrey!  I understand there were great hotels all up and down the Mother Lode region, but many were allowed to linger and deteriorate.  Just look at Otheto's photo of the Hornitos Hotel; it was on its last legs even when she photographed for her book!  You might want to try to find some of the  HABS  photographs taken in California during the 1930s. 

[3krcynyujeux8]

Shame on you Bob, you forgot to mention O'Byrne's Ferry (more properly Byrne's Ferry) south of Copperopolis!  You of all people should know that one because Otheto had a photo of it in Mother Lode album--that's where I found it and fell in love with it!

[patrick mark pazen]

Margaret, your so right, once there gone there gone for ever. Yes enjoy them while you can. Theres two in Cripple Creek Colorado that I worry about not to sure whats in store for them, I always wonder who passed thro the doors in these old jewels.

[3krcynyujeux8]

When I traveled to Colorado with my mother when I was in college, she made certain we ate breakfast at the Teller House.