In January 1859 a group of prospectors panned & dug their way up Four Mile Creek looking for traces of gold. As they approached what is now the town site of Gold Hill, they discovered the first real proof that their search was profitable.
The town site began to grow, upon the formation of Mountain District #1 Nebraska Territory. First, the miners built a settlement of log houses and shacks, followed by the service buildings, school, stores, and boarding houses. In 1872 the Wentworth Hotel, a three-story luxury log building, was constructed with the idea of attracting tourists to the town.
The Wentworth Hotel hosted many early personalities such as Clarence Darrow and Eugene Fieldwho wrote several poems about Gold Hill including, " Casey's Table D' Hote ".
In 1920, the hotel became the Bluebird Lodge, and was run as a private vacation spot for women from the Chicago area who were teachers, nurses etc.... Mrs. Sherwood was the original creator and was a protégé of Jane Addams of Hull House and also a humanitarian. The vacation spot became so popular, that in 1924 a dining hall, also log, was needed, and built next to the Bluebird Lodge. By the late fifties the "single" vacation was no longer desirable or necessary since the "rights" of women had improved.Many of the women had acquired their own cabins in Gold Hill.In 1962 the hotel and dining hall was bought by Barbara and Frank Finn from the Holiday House Association.The dining hall became the Gold Hill Inn and the adventure began.
