History
The Dousman House History
In 1864, the Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien Railroad operated between Milwaukee and Prairie du Chien. They constructed their Railway Hotel on the banks of the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien. Since it was at the west end of their tracks, they named it the 'The hotel at the end of the road'. Ground Breaking for the Dousman House construction took place while President Lincoln was in office.
In 1867, the name of the Railway Hotel was changed to The Dousman House.
The Dousman House is currently being restored to its former elegant condition and is now available for that special reception or other gatherings.
The hotel prospered until 1908. It was then sold to a chemical company in 1919.
Over the past 91 years, the Dousman House was used as a chemical company, a meatpacking plant, a storage facility, and finally an unused building. It survived several attempts to demolish it but was saved each time. Read more....
Even More History
In 1857, four yeas after it's organization, the first of the Milwaukee & Mississippi Rail Road Company arrived in Prairie du Chien. Since the business center of the village was in Lower Town, the company constructed it's station and elevator in Lower Town, between Front Street & the Mississippi River.
By the early 1860's the rail road company's business had outgrown it's facilities. Reorganized as the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railway Company. The company's western terminus had dual locations; Prairie du Chien & McGregor , Iowa. The small station and elevator could not handle to volume of wheat coming in from the west, and when the river was low, the wheat could not be transferred from boats to the railroad cars. So a massive expansion at Prairie du Chien had begun.
The Railway Buildings were moved to the old main village, with the gain elevators being built first followed by the freight house, platforms & facilities for ferry & steamboat landings. Once the needs for the freight business were fulfilled, the Railway Company then directed their efforts to accommodate the passengers.
Hercules L. Dousman, Director Of the Railway, acquired a piece of land not too far from the elevator and landing and donating it to the Railway Company. On part of the donated land, the Railway Company built a passenger station. By this time the Railway Company had already begun laying track in Iowa for the McGregor Western Railroad. The officers knew the passengers would need a place to stay during their layover in Prairie du Chien, so they decided to build the hotel next to the passenger station on the rest of the land donated by Dousman.
Construction on the hotel began in the summer of 1864. The hotel was appropriately named The Railway House when it opened to the public and was soon hailed as one of the most impressive hotels in the Midwest. Constructed of Milwaukee cream brick, the Railway House was built three stories tall with a full basement and topped by a cupola. The hotel was impressive and gave it's lodgers a fine view of the Mississippi River. Each one of its fifty-one rooms was individually heated by a stove, and a unique system of indoor toilets serviced each floor.
First managed by Colonel J.F. Williams gave the dining room a fine reputation for quality food and wine. Charles F. Haufschmidt followed Williams as manager and under his management around 1884 the hotel was renamed, The Dousman House. "Old Charlie" maintained to hotel's fine reputation. Always present in the dining room Haufschmidt oversaw the preparation and serving of quail, pheasant, frog-legs, venison, partridge, Baltimore Oysters, and tender sausage made in-house.
Changes occurring in the early 20th century caused the hotel business to decline, forcing the closure of the Dousman House. After lying empty for several years, William Carroll purchased the hotel in 1937. Carroll had the building fitted for use as a packing plant and leased it to Armour Packing Company in 1939. Oscar Meyer Co. bought the building in 1946 and operated it as a slaughter-packing plant until 1952.
Sources:
Papers of H.L. Dousman
Annual Reports of Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien Railway Company
The Courier - 1864, 1865, 1952
Fred A. Schrader
Paper original writing:
Mary Antoine deJulio, July 1987