McCloud Hotel

In 1894, A.F. Friday George built the first mill located in what is now McCloud, but it failed because of the difficulty of hauling the lumber over the hill by oxen. In 1897, the town of McCloud was finally established by George W. Scott and William VanArsdale, founders of the McCloud River Railroad Company. The railroad made it economically feasible to transport the lumber to more populated areas. The two men also purchased many of the small failed mills including the old Friday George mill and named it the McCloud River Lumber Company. Thus began the lumber company town of McCloud.

The McCloud River Lumber Company (known as Mother McCloud) kept the town secure and prosperous. The homes were steam heated and electricity was supplied by the mill. When your faucet leaked or a light burned out, "you'd just call Mother McCloud and a crew would be over to fix it for you" recalled a third-generation McCloud native. Those days ended in 1963 when U.S. Plywood Company purchased the mill, the railroad and the town.

In 1965, U.S. Plywood transferred town properties to John W. Galbreath and Co. They in turn sold them to individuals.

The hotel was once a prominent guest house that provided a home for mill workers and teachers as well as overnight accommodations for out of town visitors. It was condemned in 1985 and stood empty and desolate until Lee and Marilyn Ogden, on a visit to McCloud in 1993, decided to purchase and restore the grand old hotel. It opened as a bed and breakfast in 1995.

I think it's a fine looking building.