Cushing Hotel facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Cushing Hotel
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The original section of the Cushing Hotel
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 3291 St. Croix Trail South, Afton, Minnesota |
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| Area | .08 acres (0.032 ha) |
| Built | 1867 |
| NRHP reference No. | 85000098 |
| Designated NRHP | January 17, 1985 |
The Cushing Hotel is an old hotel in Afton, Minnesota. It opened in 1867. The hotel was built to welcome railroad workers, lumbermen, and other travelers.
It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. This means it is an important historical site. It was chosen because it shows what hotels were like in river towns in the mid-1800s. Today, the hotel is still open for business. It is now known as the Afton House Inn.
What the Hotel Looks Like
The first part of the Cushing Hotel is a simple, two-story building. It is made of wood. It is about 24 feet wide and 80 feet long. The building has a special roof called a hip roof.
The hotel was built using local white pine wood. Its outside walls were covered with wooden planks called clapboard. There is not much fancy decoration on the building. It mostly has thin wooden pieces above some doors and windows.
Over the years, the building has been changed and made bigger. Early on, a two-story section was added to the back. This created more rooms. Around 1907, a screened porch was put on the front of the hotel. Later, the south side got a brick chimney. It also got a small entrance area with a pointed roof. More additions were made to the north and back. These changes made the bar and restaurant bigger. In the 1980s, a lot of work was done. The screened porch was removed. The hotel was made to look more like its original design.
Hotel History
The village of Afton officially became a village in 1858. It was located on two important travel paths in early Minnesota. These were the St. Croix River and the Point Douglas to Superior Military Road.
Afton's first hotel was built in 1856. But it was completely destroyed by a fire in 1861. Six years later, in 1867, Charles C. Cushing built this hotel. He built it on the same spot. Charles Cushing passed away in 1876. However, his wife kept the hotel running. More and more people traveling for fun helped the business grow.
Some parts of the hotel's history are not well known around the year 1900. But in 1907, Mary Pennington bought the building. She ran it only as a restaurant. People called her "Mother Mary." She managed the restaurant until she passed away in 1946.
In 1960, Mr. Smith and Mr. Myers bought the building. They added a bar called the Catfish Saloon. In 1967, the hotel turned 100 years old. A new owner, Hugh Andersen, updated the hotel. He added a dining room and a screened porch at the back.
Gordon and Kathy Jarvis bought the hotel in 1976. They started more updates. A local woodcarver helped with the changes. They had the hotel added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
