Original article
George Peoples, a resident of Bismarck at the time, purchased lots 14 and 15 of block six in Mandan in July of 1881 from the Northern Pacific Railroad for $375. In 1882-83 and at a cost of $23,500 he built a hotel from brick manufactured at a facility just east of Mandan. Located in the heart of Mandan on the northeast corner of Main Street and Collins Avenue, it became the city's second three-story building (after the InterOcean Hotel located four blocks west on Main Street) and the city's first brick three story building. It opened in April 1882.
Walls were five bricks deep on the first floor, four bricks deep on the second floor and three bricks deep on the third floor. The three-foot by 12 foot floor timbers were purchased from a flourmill that was dismantled somewhere in Minnesota. Bingenheimer and Taylor's Drug and Fancy Goods store operated from it's ground floor Main St retail space, with the S Smith Dry Goods store operating from it's Stark Ave (now Collin's Ave) location. Gussners Meat Market was built east of the hotel and supplied meat to the dining room. A second story was added to that building sometime later, but a channel was left between the buildings so tha the windows could be opened.Peoples later sold the hotel to Pat McGinley who would rename it "The McGinley." Before the advent of air conditioning, families would go to the hotel's fine dinning room during the summer and enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal rather than build fires and heat up their homes.
Jane Lauscher, a widow of a very successful Red River bonanza farmer, purchased the hotel and operated it from about 1908 through 1916. The building underwent a major remodel of the rooms and would subsequently target railroad workers and area ranchers.
Nels and Lillian Romer purchased the business in 1918. Nels Romer later served as city commissioner from 1922-23 and later Mandan's Chief of Police. His wife continued to operate the hotel for a short period, even after her husband was shot and killed in the line of duty in December 1926. In 1929, Otto Gussner opened a radiator shop in the back of the hotel building where the city of Mandan housed the fire trucks until a new city hall was built. When the hotel was remodeled in 1947, the radiator shop was moved to the back of the lot on the alley.The building remained in service exclusively as a hotel until 1968. Among the other businesses which were based in the building home were the law offices of John Sullivan, Taylor Drug, the White Star Cafe, John Sand's Bar, St. Elmo's Restaurant (in basement), The Mandan News and Crescent Printing. A Christian coffee shop operated on the main floor for a decade before its final tenant, Ratz Lounge. The building was razed in April and May 2007.
Sources of information for this article include: Morton County Roots, published 1985; Morton County Mandan News article on March 16, 2007 by Susan Balcom entitled "Mandan Hotel Has Seen Many Comings and Goings;" and an uncredited page 1 news article in the November 2, 1883 Bismarck Weekly Tribune outling building activitiy in Mandan in 1883.
Copy-edited article
George Peoples, then a Bismarck resident, purchased lots 14 and 15 of Block 6 in Mandan from the Northern Pacific Railroad for $375 (about $13,000 in 2025 dollars) in July 1881. He built a hotel in 1882–1883 for $23,500 (about $784,000 in 2025 dollars), using brick manufactured just east of Mandan. Located at the northeastern corner of Main Street and Collins Avenue, it became the city's second three-story building, after the InterOcean Hotel four blocks west, and its first three-story brick building. The hotel opened in April 1882.
The walls were five bricks thick on the first floor, four on the second, and three on the third. Floor timbers measuring three inches by 12 inches came from a dismantled Minnesota flour mill. Bingenheimer and Taylor's Drug and Fancy Goods operated in the ground-floor storefront along Main Street, while S. Smith Dry Goods occupied the Stark Avenue, now Collins Avenue, side. Gussner's Meat Market stood east of the hotel and supplied its dining room. A second floor was later added to the market building, but an air shaft between the structures allowed the hotel windows to remain usable.
Peoples later sold the hotel to Pat McGinley, who renamed it the McGinley. Before air conditioning, families visited the hotel's dining room for home-cooked summer meals without having to heat their own houses.
Jane Lauscher, widow of a successful Red River Valley bonanza farmer, purchased the hotel and operated it from approximately 1908 through 1916. She undertook a major remodeling of its rooms and marketed the hotel to railroad workers and area ranchers.
Nels and Lillian Romer purchased the business in 1918. Nels served as a city commissioner in 1922–1923 and later became Mandan's police chief. Lillian continued operating the hotel briefly after he was shot and killed in the line of duty in December 1926.
In 1929, Otto Gussner opened a radiator shop behind the hotel, in space where the city had stored fire trucks until a new city hall was built. The shop moved to the rear of the lot along the alley when the hotel was remodeled in 1947.
The building operated exclusively as a hotel until 1968. Other tenants over the years included attorney John Sullivan, Taylor Drug, White Star Cafe, John Sand's Bar, St. Elmo's Restaurant in the basement, The Mandan News, and Crescent Printing. A Christian coffeehouse occupied the main floor for a decade before the final tenant, Ratz Lounge. The building was demolished in April and May 2007.
Sources included Morton County Roots, published in 1985; Susan Balcom's March 16, 2007, Morton County Mandan News article, "Mandan Hotel Has Seen Many Comings and Goings"; and an uncredited report about Mandan construction in the November 2, 1883, Bismarck Weekly Tribune.