In January, 1884, Medicine Lodge citizens organized a stock company to build a first class hotel. Standiford Youmans & Co., a local business, donated the three lots at the corner of Main Street and Washington Avenue. The bricks for the structure were made here. The woodwork, furniture, and accessories were brought by ox team from the Harper railroad terminal. The Grand Hotel, the tallest building west of Wichita, opened on March 4, 1885, dazzling even the cowboys with its rich Brussels carpet, furniture of walnut and ebony with marble tops, paintings, tableware, and silverware. In 1898 the Grand was purchased by George W. Horney, who as a young cowboy in 1885 had made it his home. His son, George, and daughter, Sweet (Mrs. M.B. Skinner), in turn managed the Grand until her death in 1980.
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