20 Fun Facts You Didn’t Know about Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Inn

It's been a few years since my family took a semi-regular trip to Yellowstone National Park, and as summer winds down, I'm kicking around the idea of a weekend drive through the Park; perhaps sometime after Labor Day Weekend, when much of the crowd begins to dissipate.

The animals, the lake, the hot pools and geysers are naturally the biggest stars of Yellowstone, but the Old Faithful Inn is also a joy to explore. Dubbed "the largest log structure in the world" (surprise... it's not), the Old Faithful Inn has a rich and fascinating history.

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A Yellowstone photographer in 1870. Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images

From Wonderland to America's first National Park

Trapper Bart Henderson dubbed the location "Wonderland" in his journal, and it was designated Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Soon, railroads were delivering awe-struck folks from the East and West coasts, with rail lines dropping them off at Gardiner and West Yellowstone. From there, it was horse and wagon into the park.

Mario Tama, Getty Images

Early accommodations inside the Park were rustic, to say the least, consisting of tents and crude cabins. Soon, the need for real lodging became apparent, and by June of 1904, the Old Faithful Inn welcomed its first guest.

Photo by Zihao Wang on Unsplash

20 Fun Facts about the Old Faithful Inn

You may have seen the Old Faithful Inn a dozen times, but here are some fun tidbits about the historic lodge that you might not know.

• The Inn was funded by the Northern Pacific Railroad.
• The architect, Robert Reamer, was self-taught, having only a 6th-grade education. His use of native volcanic stone and timber earned him the reputation of "Yellowstone's Architect." Reamer designed over 25 structures in the region.
• The Old Faithful Inn was constructed in two years, 1903 - 1904. This was a busy time in the USA; America had its first World Series, the Wright Brothers made their first flight, and Henry Ford sold his first automobile.

Old Faithful Inn - Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images (2)

• The total cost of building the inn was $165,000. That would be roughly $6.2 million in 2026 dollars.
• Approximately 45 skilled log carpenters, stone masons, and ironworkers built the lodge, working year-round in the frigid winter.
• A plumber named E.C. Culley from Livingston got the contract to plumb the building.
• Canadian-born George Colpitts moved to Billings in 1880 and learned the blacksmith trade. He was awarded the contract for the ironwork, setting up shop in Livingston.

Old Faithful Inn - Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

• The mismatch of window panes on the lodge was intentional; Reamer reportedly wanted the windows to mimic nature's lack of geometric symmetry.
• The “widows walk” observation deck on the roof of the lodge was closed to public access in 1948.
• The massive, 8-hearth, 15.5-foot-wide fireplace and towering chimney were carved from 500 tons of stone.
• The pendulum on the giant iron clock on the fireplace tick-tocks every two seconds.
• When the lodge opened in June of 1904, guests could book a room for $4. Adjusted for inflation, that would be worth $150 today.

Old Faithful Inn - Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

• Gross earnings for the hotel in its first year were $45,000. That's $1.7 million in today's dollars.
• The East Wing was added in 1914, and the West Wing was completed in 1927.
• Bark was originally intact on the lodgepole pine posts and beams in the lobby. It was removed in 1940, reportedly creating a foot-deep “carpet” of bark on the floor.
• The rumor of a headless bride haunting the hotel’s crows nest area is not true. A former inn manager named George Bornemann says he made up the story for a reporter.

Paul Campbell

• The Inn was closed in 1918 for WWI and closed from 1943 - 1945 for WWII. However, in 1946 Yellowstone National Park had a record 815,000 visitors… more than 12x the number of visitors in 1943.
• A herd of 45 milk cows kept at Lower Geyser Basin supplied 60-70 gallons of milk per day to Inn visitors in 1914.
• Staff in the early days had fun nicknames. Stagecoach drivers were called "savages," park guests were dubbed "dudes," "bubble queens" did the laundry, maids were called "pillow punchers," and dishwashers were called "pearl divers.
• At one time, the on-site laundry staff was doing one million pieces of laundry per year at the Old Faithful Inn.

Source: Old Faithful Inn Crown Jewel of National Park Lodges by Karen Wildung Reinhart and Jeff Henry, published in 2004.