The Cushing Hotel is a historic hotel in
Afton, Minnesota
Afton is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,886 at the 2010 United States Census. It lies on a small bay where Valley Creek empties into the St. Croix River, several miles north of its confluence with ...
, United States, established in 1867 to cater to railroad workers, lumbermen, and travelers. The hotel was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 1985 for having local significance in the theme of commerce. It was nominated for exemplifying the commercial lodging common to mid-19th-century river towns.
It remains in business as the Afton House Inn.
Description
The original section of the Cushing Hotel is a simple two-story
wood-frame
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...
building. It measures and is topped with a
hip roof
A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thu ...
. The building was constructed of locally milled
white pine
''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been furthe ...
and sheathed in
clapboard
Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping.
''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...
. Decoration is very minimal, primarily consisting of thin
lintel
A lintel or lintol is a type of beam (a horizontal structural element) that spans openings such as portals, doors, windows and fireplaces. It can be a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. In the case o ...
s over some doors and windows.
The building has been expanded and altered over the years. Early on a two-story wing was added to the rear to create additional rooms. Around 1907 a
screened porch
A screened porch, also known as a screen room, is a type of porch or similar structure on or near the exterior of a house that has been covered by window screens in order to hinder insects, debris, and other undesirable objects from entering the ...
was added across the front façade. Later the south façade gained a brick chimney and a
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aest ...
d entrance vestibule. Additions were made to the north and rear to expand the bar and restaurant. Extensive work in the 1980s removed the screened porch and restored much of the historical appearance of the original wing.
History
The village of Afton, formally organized in 1858, was situated on two main travel routes in early Minnesota: the
St. Croix River and the
Point Douglas to Superior Military Road Point Douglas to Superior Military Road, also known as Point Douglas to St. Louis River Military Road was a road that ran between Point Douglas, located at the outlet of the Lower St. Croix Lake near Hastings, Minnesota, first to the falls of the S ...
. The town's first hotel was built in 1856 but it was completely destroyed by a fire in 1861. Six years later Charles C. Cushing built this hotel on the same site. He died in 1876 but his wife kept the business in operation, bolstered by a growing number of leisure travelers.
There is a gap in the building's history leading up to the turn of the 20th century, but in 1907 it was acquired by Mary Pennington and operated exclusively as a restaurant.
"Mother Mary", as she was known, managed it until her death in 1946. In 1960 Mssrs. Smith and Myers bought the building and added the Catfish Saloon. In 1967, on its hundredth anniversary, new owner Hugh Andersen remodeled the hotel, adding a dining room and a screened rear porch. Gordon and Kathy Jarvis purchased the hotel in 1976 and began more remodeling, with work supervised by a local woodcarver. They had the hotel listed on the National Register in 1985.
See also
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List of hotels in the United States
This is a list of hotels in the United States, both current and defunct, organized by state. The list includes highly rated luxury hotels, skyscraper rated buildings, and historic hotels. It is not a directory of every chain or independent hotel bu ...
*
References
External links
Afton House Inn
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
1867 establishments in Minnesota
Buildings and structures in Washington County, Minnesota
Hotel buildings completed in 1867
Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Hotels established in 1867
Railway hotels in the United States
National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Minnesota