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HISTORY & PREHISTORY

Nevada City Hotel

Updated: August 31, 2020

Parlor
Parlor

The front portion of this hotel was once a stage station providing respite to travelers of the stage-coach days. The hotel's famous, two-story outhouse may be the most photographed building in Montana! Two large rooms in the hotel are decorated with antique, Victorian furnishings, and all rooms and cabins have an Old West charm. The cabins are genuine miner's cabins lovingly restored for the guests' comfort. Some still have sod roofs.

"About the year 1911, Homer Tash could see that in the not too distant future, gold dredging would be finished. He began to look for a ranch to buy and found a ranch near Twin Bridges, Montana. The home in Ruby was sold and on March 2, 1912, Homer, Nora and their five children started for the ranch. The ranch was two miles south of Twin Bridges, and was often referred to as the Clausen Place. There were two large barns, a granary, machine shed and milk house, and a very large house. These buildings had been built in the 1860's The place was a stagecoach stop, Salisbury, between Salt Lake and Helena for many years. The front part of the house was built of logs covered with weather boarding. Mr. Bovey of Virginia City purchased the log part of the house and it was rebuilt in Nevada City. It now serves as a motel." 

Saloon Doors
Saloon Doors

The present Nevada City Hotel still accepts overnight guests and invites you and your family to experience a true Western vacation. 

In the Hotel one can still view the Men's Saloon and Gambling Parlor which was a meeting place for the men to gamble and have conversation. (Behind the bar is a serving tray with three bullet holes in it.) 

Across the lobby is the Ladies' Parlor, where the more "gen-teel" women could sit and visit, read, write letters, enjoy some refreshments, play the piano, smoke, or chew and "expectorate" (that is - spit). There is a beautiful porcelain spittoon that is still present in the parlor. 

Organ
Organ

If the stage-coach was an "overnighter" the men would retire to the room over the Saloon. It contained four double bunks. Once the eight beds were filled the rest of the men had to sprawl out on the floor. 

The women's sleeping room was situated above their parlor. The sleeping room also had sleeping cots for the ladies. When they were filled, they too had to rest on the floor. 

These now are the Victorian rooms. They are decorated with exquisite Victorian furnishings. 

The two-story back section of the Hotel was originally a dormitory in the Canyon area of Yellowstone National Park, built c. 1911. It was modernized with private baths in all the rooms and is now the major part of the Hotel. 

Spittoon
Spittoon

The "Hotel" has been in four towns, yet only moved once. The building was originally in the town of Pollinger, twenty-six miles north of Nevada City (near the present-day Twin Bridges). Later the name of the town was changed to Gaffney's Station after its then postmaster, Owen Gaffney. At the time it was a stagecoach stop for the Gilmore and Salisbury, Co., which ran between Salt Lake City and Helena. In 1875 the name of the town was changed to Salisbury. The Post Office was discontinued in 1883. The building later served as a ranch house. In time, Charles Bovey bought the log structure and moved it to Nevada City where it now serves as a hotel.

Special acknowledgements to: John D. Ellingsen, John N. DeHaas, Tony Dalich, and Ken Sievert, Tom Cook and Ellen Baumler of the Montana Historical Society.


Updated: August 31, 2020

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