Litchfield House
The earliest and longest-standing hotel in Litchfield was the Litchfield House. It was built in 1869 by Charles Almquist and was conveniently located for visitors coming to Litchfield via the railroad. The present-day address of the site is 32 E Commercial Street.
For many years, the hotel was considered the biggest in the area. It was a two-story building, measuring thirty feet by twenty feet, with two additional wings and cost $2,500. Changes in 1873 nearly doubled the size of the hotel.
Over the first several years, the hotel had various owners and was managed by several businessmen. Besides regular hotel operations, the Litchfield House also had a kitchen and space to hold banquets and parties for local groups such as the Masons.
When Myron Baum took over the hotel in the 1880s, he knew he couldn’t compete with the newly built Howard House Hotel when it came to luxury, so he leaned into this aspect of his business. “People of limited means or plain habits are interested in learning about the less expensive hotel accommodations.” For just a dollar a day, everything a person could want was provided for in “clean abundance.” Weekly and monthly rates were also available. Under Baum, the hotel also boasted “superior inducements” by having a large barn where guests could stable their horses or hire a horse if needed.
Baum ran the hotel longer than anyone else in its 90-year history. All businesses have their ups and downs, but Baum’s low point might have been in the winter of 1900-1901 when smallpox came to Litchfield. One of the hotel’s guests was discovered to have the highly contagious disease and before long, the entire building was placed under quarantine. Guards were placed outside and no one could come or go for 45 days.
By the end of Baum’s tenure, the size of the hotel reached its peak. A large addition to the west, or right side, almost doubled the space. Sometime around 1900, a smaller addition was added to the east side, creating a high-ceilinged lobby. In 1983, Mindy Desens wrote an article about the hotel for the Museum and had a chance to visit the building. She described the lobby and how the oldest part of the hotel had “labyrinthical hallways and a slightly off-level floor” and that “the ancient hardwood is worn from traffic of many feet.”
The last owner of the Litchfield House was the Harold Lien family. They purchased the building in 1948 and operated it until 1979. Over the years, the hotel had become home to many long-term tenants and more resembled apartment living. It officially became Lien Apartments and Rooms before closing in 1979.
The hotel was torn down in 1984, but a piece of the hotel lives on at the Meeker County Museum. On the front desk sits the Litchfield House’s guest registry stand and now holds the Museum’s guest book.
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