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Cody, Jan. 1, 1901
Col. Cody heavily invested in the area. In addition to the Irma hotel, named after his daughter and pictured below,
his enterprises included the Cody
Trading Company, a livery stable and the Cody Enterprise. In addition, near Meeteetse he
purchased the Carter Ranch on the South Fork of the
Stinking Water (now the South Fork of the Shoshone) which he named the T E.
Irma Letterhead, undated.
As indicated by the letterhead, Cody's brother-in-law, Louis Decker, was general
manager of the hotel which opened in in 1902.
Irma Hotel, approx. 1910.
Lower Left, Irma Hotel, 1908, photo by F. J. Hiscock
The Irma was constructed by Cody in 1902 and
 was
designed by famed Nebraska architect Alfred Wilderman Woods. Although intended as a
luxury hotel, some guests were less than impressed. In 1916, Horace M. Albright (1890-1987) escorted
National Park System Director Stephen Tyng Mather (1867-1930) on a tour to Yellowstone. On the
first night of the tour, the Mather party stayed at the Irma. In his Creating the National Park Service:
the Missing Years, Horace M. Albright and Marian Albright Schenck, University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, 1999, Albright gave an account of the stay. The dinner was a disaster, with bad food and terrible service.
Albright at the request of Director Mather checked the kitchen. "It was about the dirtiest, most
unsanitary place I had ever seen." According to Albright,
The rest of the evening turned out to be equally bad. First of all, Mrs.
Mather insisted on sitting up all night in the lobby after she discovered
"things crawling in the bed." Mather ordered a pillow and blankets for her,
saw to her comfort, and then disappeared back to the lice, bedbugs, or whatever.
He didn't last long there because when he opened the door to his room he found two
men asleep in his bed. Downstairs at the desk he demanded another room.
"there is no other room," said the clerk. "You'll just have to make your bedfellows move over."
Albright had a similar experience being awakened by a strang man crawling into his bed. As he lay awake listening to
the snores of his bedmate, he became aware of the "various bugs that had missed Mrs. Mather," and
thus moved to the floor.
Much of the Town of Cody was constructed
by a friend of Cody from Buffalo, N. Y, Henry Montgomery Gerrans (1853-1939). Gerrans was
a director of the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo at which the
Wild West Show performed. The Buffalo, N. Y., influence on the Town of Cody is
perhaps also reflected in the name of three streets, Gerrans Ave., Bleistein Ave. and Rumsey Ave. George
Bleistein was also a director of the Exposition. The Rumsey family farm was
used as a site for the Exposition. Beck, Alger, George Bleistein, H. M. Gerrans, Bronson Rumsey, II, are all regarded as
the co-founders of the Town. Although the Town of
Cody had less than 50 buildings at the time of the opening of the hotel, and
ten of those buildings were saloons, the town was equipped with the latest modern amenities including
electricity, and a water and sewer system. The town remained, however, primarily agricultural, spurred on in part
by the irrigation scheme.
The hotel featured a
cherry backbar which was a gift from Queen Victoria and a series of Queen
Ann style windows on the Sheridan Avenue side. See next photo. In various renovations after the
hotel was opened, the windows were removed. Some of windows may be seen in the
local Holiday Inn. In addition, Cody maintained an office in the hotel and
two suites.
Irma Hotel, approx. 1955
Following Cody's death, the hotel continued to be operated by
Cody's widow, Louisa and her son-in-law Fred Garlow. On March 11, 1918, a private at Fort
Riley, Kansas, reported to the Post hospital complaining of a fever, sore throat and headache. By noon
more than 100 soldiers also reported to the hospital with the same symptoms. By the end of the week more than
500 had come down with the same malady. Over the next months, the Spanish Influenza swept the country infecting
some 28% of all Americans and causing the death of an estimated 657,000. World-wide it has been
estimated that 20 to 40 million died. More American troops in Europe during World War I died from the
influenza than were killed by German action. The disease had a strange impact. It killed those in the
prime of life between ages 20 and 40 but in most instances those younger and
older were not affected as seriously. In October in the United States, some
195,000 died. By October, the flue was in Wyoming. Worland reported some 20 cases by October 10.
In one week alone, 14 died in Washakie County. Among those in Cody who died in October were Irma and her husband Frederick Garlow, leaving
Louisa Cody to rear three young children. Louisa died in 1921 and the hotel was
sold in 1925 to Henry and Pearl Newell.
Irma Hotel, 2003, photo by Geoff Dobson
The Irma, still in business, was the first of three hotels, strategically located to
serve tourists on their way to Yellowstone. A day's journey toward
Yellowstone was the Pahaska Tepee, pictured with regard to the
Cody Road, and a half day's journey was the
Wapiti Inn. The Pahaska is still in existence. The Wapiti, however, was torn down in
1913. Parts of its materials were, however, used in an addition to the Pahaska.
F. J. Hiscock, "The Picture Man," undated
Joseph Jesse Faver "Fay Jay" Hiscock (F. J. Hiscock) (1874-1951), many of whose pictures are
featured on this and the ensuing pages, was originally from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
He remained active in photography in Cody from his arrival in 1904 until the early 1940's, and sold
packages of photographs to tourists. The packages were primarily of the Cody
Road. In his advertising he referred to himself as "The Picture Man."
Next Page: Cody continued.
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