The Virginian Hotel is a historic

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

in Medicine Bow,

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

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. Construction on the hotel began in 1901 and was completed in 1911. It was built by August Grimm, the first mayor of Medicine Bow, and his partner George Plummer. The hotel is thought to be named for the famous novel written in Medicine Bow, '' The Virginian'' by

Owen Wister Owen Wister (July 14, 1860 – July 21, 1938) was an American writer and historian, considered the "father" of western fiction. He is best remembered for writing '' The Virginian'' and a biography of Ulysses S. Grant. Biography Early life ...

. Although it provided a place for cowboys and railroad workers to stay while they were in town, the hotel was actually built to serve a much broader clientele. It became a headquarters for all to meet and eat as well as a setting for many business dealings. The significance of the hotel rests upon its architecture and its history. The building is massive in size for a town the size of Medicine Bow, which has 284 residents. The hotel has served as a landmark for the town of Medicine Bow as well as a Historic Landmark for the state of Wyoming for nearly 100 years.

Construction and architecture

The original building is a 3½ story structure built in a freely adapted example of Renaissance Revival in the Italian Style. Its simplicity of outline and symmetrical exterior lines are evidence of its Renaissance Revival architecture. It is constructed of concrete blocks containing sand drawn from the

Medicine Bow River The Medicine Bow River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 21, 2011 tributary of the North Platte River, in southern Wyoming in the United States. Description It ...

and fashioned at the building site. Along with the significance of the size and architecture of the hotel, it boasts the first electric lights and sewer in town. The hotel proper is papered in Victorian gold and burgundy medallion wallpaper, has velvet draperies and pressed tin on its 12 foot high ceilings. The main floor has an "Eating House," the formal "Owen Wister Dining Room," and the "Shiloh Saloon," which still has bullet holes riddled throughout to remind guests of some past shootout. The rooms have antique brass beds, tulip-shape lights are still heated by steam radiators. Only the suites have private baths, replete with claw foot bathtubs. The other rooms have access to separate bath facilities located in the halls. True to its time, the rooms in the original hotel do not have modern amenities such as telephones or televisions.

Location

Upon completion, it was the biggest hotel between

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and

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. It is located midway between Laramie and

Rawlins, Wyoming Rawlins is a city in Carbon County, Wyoming, Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,221 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is the county seat of Carbon County. It was named for Union Army, Union General John Aa ...

on the old

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

(

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History

On September 30, 1911, the Virginian celebrated its grand opening. In 1957, two cement block extensions were added on to the hotel, one of which was, until recently, used as living quarters for the hotel owners but now contains rental units. These newer units have coffee makers, small refrigerators, phones, and cable TV as well as their own attached bathrooms. In 1978, the Virginian Hotel was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The hotel had a grand reopening in 1984, after it had been completely renovated and restored to its current turn of the century decor.

References

External links

Virginian Hotel
at the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office {{NRHP in Carbon County, Wyoming Renaissance Revival architecture in Wyoming Hotel buildings completed in 1911 Buildings and structures in Carbon County, Wyoming Railway hotels in the United States Hotels in Wyoming Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Wyoming 1911 establishments in Wyoming National Register of Historic Places in Carbon County, Wyoming