The Rustic Hotel . . .'No Second-Rate Affair' -- Fort Laramie National Historic Site, WY
N 42° 12.319 W 104° 33.517
13T E 536436 N 4672666
This Wyoming historical marker about the Rustic Hotel which operated in the late nineteenth century is located at a roadside pullout near the ruins of the post hospital on the road to Fort Laramie National historic site
Waymark Code: WMY26H
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 04/05/2018
Views: 0
This Wyoming historical marker tells 2 stories: one of the hardships of finding suitable accommodations for travelers on the trail, and the other of the Cheyenne Black Hills stage line.
The marker is located in a highway pullout on the Wyoming State Highway 52/Post Road at an overlook where you can see the ruins of the old Post Hospital for Fort Laramie.
The marker reads as follows:
"THE RUSTIC HOTEL . . . ‘No Second-Rate Affair”
As the nation prepared to celebrate its centennial in 1876, electrifying news of a gold rush in the Black Hills flashed across the country. A new bridge across the North Platte River guaranteed that the preferred route to the goldfields passed through Fort Laramie.
Post trader John S. Collins erected a hotel on this location to provide lodging for the gold seekers. Collins christened the new establishment the Rustic. The hotel also served as headquarters for the Cheyenne and Black Hills stage company. Cheyenne newspapers reported favorably on the new hotel, noting, “from the ‘tone’ of it, we infer that the Rustic is to be no second-rate affair. The manager will accommodate all with clean beds and first-class meals.” Many travelers to stayed at the Rustic thought otherwise.
“. . . I did not quite look like the look of the bed . . . With its dingy sheets . . . I had not slept an hour before disagreeable sensation aroused me . . . Ugh! The whole place swarmed with horrid little bugs . . . Of course, sleep was out of the question for me . . . “ Rose Pender, Rustic Hotel guest, 1883
THE CHEYENNE-BLACK HILLS STAGE COMPANY
The Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Line began operation in April 1876, providing service from Cheyenne to Custer City. Ticket prices ranged between ten and twenty dollars. The trip could be made in three days, weather permitting. Stage service extended to Deadwood in September, a distance of 290 miles from Cheyenne.
At first, Indian attacks and stagecoach robberies plagued the line. The military acted quickly to protect it. Army established camps at strategic locations on the trail and patrolled the most dangerous sections. The stage hauled scores of travelers and millions of dollars of bullion to and from the Black Hills over its eleven-year lifespan."
Marker Name: The Rustic Hotel . . .'No Second-Rate Affair'
Marker Type: Rural Roadside
Group Responsible for Placement: National Park Service
Web link(s) for additional information: [Web Link]
Addtional Information: Not listed
Date Dedicated: Not listed
Marker Number: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please post a photo of you OR your GPS at the marker location. Also if you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Wyoming history please include that in your log.