THE GRANDDADDY OF HOTELS - THE NACHUSA HOUSE
Up until a few years ago, it was billed as the oldest continually
operating hotel in Illinois and one of the five oldest in the
country. It has stood through the years as a symbol of our past
history and heritage, and as a reminder to all of the great people
who walked through its doors. It has withstood the ravages of time
and seen 34 United States Presidents take office, dating back to
James Van Buren who was the 8th President.
It all began back in 1837, when John Dixon and a small group of
early settlers returned from a downstate trip to the State Capital at
Vandalia. They had called upon the legislature for a grant of a
charter to establish the Dixon Hotel Company. In granting the
charter, the state allowed the group a corporate seal and power to
raise a capital stock of $20,000 for construction of a hotel in
Dixon.
Money was quickly raised to begin the project and the foundation
was laid in 1838 for the rooming house by a Buffalo, New York ,firm.
But further progress on the structure was halted by the stringency of
the money market attributed to the Panic of 1837 which adversely
affected the economy of the nation as well as that of Illinois and
hotel builders abandoned their project locally and work stopped in
the same year it had begun. It would be some 15 years later when work
would once again commence.
On March 19, 1853, with a capital amount of $10,000, the erection
of the large hotel was begun and the completed building was to be
ready in July of that year for use by the public. Further delays in
construction caused the project to finally be completed, and the
Nachusa House Hotel opened at last, on Dec. 10, 1853. It was named
the Nachusa House after John Dixon's Indian name, meaning "Head hair
white."
Located on Galena Street, opposite the public square, it occupied
a commanding position overlooking the whole town, as well as the Rock
River and the valley for many miles. The hotel would serve travelers
on the Galena Trail which was an old stage road running from Peoria
to Galena. The building was built of undressed limestone and
including the basement, stood four stories high. The main building
was 40 by 48 feet. The hotel after opening quickly became a popular
and busy establishment. It was said, that a visit to Dixon without a
stop at the Nachusa House was not a complete visit at all.
By 1867, a wing was added to the building which measured 80 by 36
feet and the four story limestone annex contained 60 rooms. The fifth
story and a cupola were added to the main building during this period
and was finished with a mansard roof by 1868. The south annex was
added during 1914 to serve the automobile traffic, as Dixon became
the western terminus of the Lincoln Highway, a road which would
eventually extend from New York to the west coast.
The cupola was removed sometime between 1926 and 1945. During the
1950s, the south annex was gutted and rebuilt. During the same years,
the west annex was razed and rebuilt. Also added, was the New Orleans
style of grillwork which is still in place today. The front steps to
the building which lead from the Galena Avenue sidewalk to the lobby,
were removed due to the widening of the street in 1965.
Over the years, the great and the near-great have been guests at
the hotel. Among the more notable have been Abraham Lincoln, U. S.
Grant, Schuyler Colfax (vice president during Grant's first term as
President), Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Jefferson Davis,
Medill McCormick, Robert LaFollett Sr., Eugene V. Debs, Stephen A.
Douglas, Gen. George B. McClellan, John M. Palmer (Illinois Governor
from 1869 to 1872), William (Boss) Tweed, Judge Kenesaw Landis,
Marquis of Queensbury, Mme. Schumann-Heink, Oliver Wendell Holmes,
Horace Greeley, Henry Ward Beecher, Dwight Moody, Richard Oglesby
(Illinois' only Governor to be elected three times, 1864, 1872 and
1885) and William Jennings Bryan.
Among the rooms in the hotel, some were named after our country's
presidents. In the early days of the hotel's existence one of its
frequent guests was Abraham Lincoln. His stays in the hotel are
remembered by a Lincoln room which was established, as it was here
that the famous Civil War president on more than one occasion stayed
while visiting friends in Dixon. The room was furnished much the way
it was when Lincoln stopped here.
The Nachusa House was added to the rolls of the National Register
of Historical Places in early 1983. What will the fate of this
historic edifice be? Only time will tell, for today it sits silent
amidst the ever changing landscape, perhaps falling rapidly into a
state of disrepair, but ever hopeful of a renewed life.
All pictures and articles found on this page are copyrighted by
the Lee County Historical Society. They are not to be reproduced,
redistributed, sold, or otherwise altered. These pictures and
articles are for the sole private, non-commercial use for research
and education. These pictures may not be used without the expressed
written permission of the Lee County Historical Society.