Built in 1905, The Cottage Hotel is one of the many buildings constructed during the time that the Oregon Electric Railway ran through Wilsonville. The hotel’s business was directly dependent on the railroad’s passenger service. A boardwalk ran from the train depot to the hotel.
The hotel offered guests five rooms upstairs and additional rooms on the south side of the main floor. But it was owner Fanny Dill’s cooking that brought the hotel a full measure of renown.
In the large living room, its high ceiling elegantly beamed, Mrs. Dill served home-style cooking at its best. Crews on northbound trains devised a special whistle to signal Mrs. Dill in advance so dinner would be on the table upon their arrival.
When railroad passenger service ended the hotel closed its doors. The building has been a private residence since 1939.