The History of the Sheridan Inn

With construction completed, the Inn opened its doors on May 27,1893 for their first guest. The grand opening was held on June 27th, 1893 with Buffalo Bill leading the Grand March into the dinning room.

George and Lucy Canfield were the Inn’s first managers and remained so for many years. Buffalo Bill purchased the business part of the Inn in 1894 until 1901 and retained the Canfields’ as managers.

Many notables have stayed at the Sheridan Inn over the years such as Ernest Hemingway, while he began the book, “ Farewell to Arms”. President Hoover, Vice President Dawes, Thomas Dewey, Wendell Wilkie, Will Rogers, Dwight Marrow, Mary Robert Rinehart, Charlie Russell, Robert Taylor, Bob Hope, Generals Perishing, Carrington, Howard and Wood, plus Senators Kendrick, Cary and Mondaell, Major Sheridan, Ms. Irma Bobanova, the Premiere Ballerina of the Russian Ballet Company and many more.

Many people came on the railroad and stayed at the Inn while their homes and ranches were being built, and many women came from the ranches to await the birth of the children. The Inn has a copy of the original 1893 registration book. Of course our most famous residents today are the famous Buffalo Bill Cody and Miss Kate Arnold.

Ranchers would come from many miles to spend a weekend whooping it up in town. They would often leave their good clothes here in a trunk for the next party. Many fine parties were held at the Inn and the "Wyoming Slug", a combination of whiskey and champagne,  was a favorite drink.

The first electric current in Sheridan was at the Inn. Power was turned on in May of 1893, and came from a threshing machine engine, fired by coal. A whistle was blown at midnight as a curfew for the 200 lights to be turned off.

First telephone service operated from the Inn to a drug store downtown.

Meal tickets at the Inn were 21 meals for $7.00. A coach was run from here to town, and many of the town people came at mealtime. Board and room was $2.25 per day: $1.00 for the room, 25 cents for breakfast, 50 cents for dinner, and 50 cents for supper.

The Inn operated as a hotel until May 1965 when is was closed and sold to a developer who had plans for the property, which included the destruction of the Inn. A massive “Save the Inn” campaign went on for two years sponsored by the Sheridan Historical Society, until a newcomer the Sheridan Area, Neltje, purchased the structure. Following extensive remodeling of the first floor, the Inn reopened in 1967 for dinning and dancing. The upper two floors have had some remodeling in 1967 for office space, but most of it remains as it did when constructed in 1893. Neltje operated the Inn for over twenty years.

Several owners have come and gone since then and in 1990 the Sheridan Heritage Center Inc. board of directors requested the City and County form a Joint Powers board to access State monies for the purchase of the Inn. A $100,000.00 Loan and $100,000.00 grant was awarded and the Inn was purchased from the bankruptcy court. The Sheridan Heritage Center Board of Directors formed an agreement with the Sheridan Inn Joint Powers Board or operate, maintain, and renovate the Inn as well as pay back the loan from the state. The Inn was purchased, and brought up to city codes with the help of many volunteer hours and materials, and reopened to the public on June, 1991. The Loan was paid off to the State of Wyoming in Oct. of 1997 and at the time the Joint Powers was disbanded and the Sheridan Heritage Center Inc. a not for profit, 501 ©3 became the sole owner of the Inn.

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