The Sheridan House (later Northwest Hotel) was a prominent pioneer hotel that operated between 1877-1921.
The Sheridan House was constructed in joint partnership between Northern Pacific Railway and E.H. Bly in 1877 at a cost of $50,000. It was originally located on the present-day site of the historic railroad depot. Bly held a ground lease from Northern Pacific and agreed to maintain a ticket office at the hotel in exchange for heavily discounted rail fare. Bly arrived to Bismarck with $250,000 in cash ready to invest in the booming “northwest.” He had numerous investments across the western frontier, including the Headquarters hotels in Brainerd, Minnesota and Fargo.
The Sheridan House was prominent for several reasons. It was one of the largest buildings in Bismarck, considered the finest hotel of the time, and because of its prominent location adjacent to the railroad. In fact, many celebrations were held at the hotel because of this, including celebrations ahead of the golden spike ceremony when former President Grant stayed as a guest of the hotel. It was also Bismarck’s first privately-owned building lit by electricity.
The Sheridan House was the first hotel operated by Edward Patterson, who took over the hotel in 1893 with a partner, E.S. Allen. Bly originally subleased the hotel to the gentlemen until Patterson purchased the lease independently the following year and became the hotel’s sole proprietor. Northern Pacific technically owned the hotel itself, leasing it to Bly and later Patterson.
Sheridan House in the 1870s-1880s. Note the proximity of the railroad. Today’s historic depot now sits on this spot (Bismarck: Capital City Memories: 1d-8)
When the 1898 Fire necessitated Northern Pacific to build a new depot, the company canceled the ground lease in 1900, which forced the Sheridan House to be dismantled. Most of the Sheridan House’s materials were used to construct the Northwest Hotel, which was brick veneered.
The hotel ceased operating as a lodging facility in 1911 when Patterson opened the historic McKenzie Hotel (later Patterson Hotel). It was then leased to the state as an industrial exposition building. It was remodeled in 1912 for its new purpose, using mostly prison labor.
The Nonpartisan League became headquartered the Northwest Hotel upon its formation in 1915. The League, later headquartered at the Patterson Hotel, dominated state politics for decades until merging with the Democratic Party forming today’s North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party.
Patterson remodeled the building again in 1917 to re-open it as a lodging facility once again in time for the upcoming legislative assembly.
Fire
The Northwest Hotel was destroyed by an early morning fire on October 27, 1921. It was believed to have originated shortly before 5:00 a.m. from an explosion in an adjacent garage. Two more explosions were felt before the fire spread to the hotel itself forcing guests to flea in “scanty attire.” Gunpowder in a hardware store located within the building ignited, but a massive explosion was thankfully averted when a large barrel of stored gunpowder was moved to safety in time.
The massive sign was the first part of the hotel to collapse. The building fully collapsed by about 7:15 a.m. 50 vehicles stored in the garage were also destroyed. In all, the fire caused about $200,000 in damages.
