In 1895, while on a surveying trip for the Kansas City, Pittsburgh, and Gulf (KP&G) Company, Edwin Walters visited Rich Mountain. Walters was the first to come up with the idea of the Queen Wilhelmina Lodge. He observed the cool air, crystal clear springs, the variety of wildlife, and the beautiful views. Later, he suggested that a resort of some type be constructed on the mountain. Arthur Stilwell, the vice-president of KP&G, accepted the idea in 1897 (Mountain Memories 9,10).
In the 1890s, during the construction of the railroad, the economy entered a small depression, the Panic of 1893. Stilwell was forced to travel overseas in order to acquire money to continue construction. In Holland, he discovered several benefactors', including Jan DeGeoijen who invested heavily. This is why many of the towns and attractions including Queen Wilhelmina State Park have names with Dutch influence. Stillwell named the resort "Mount Mena". After KP&G were taken over by the Kansas City Company the resort became known as "Mount Manitou" (Mountain Memories 10) .
Tent City:The summer after opening Mount Mena, the first lodge was not completely ready for tourists. Instead a "Tent City" was made. The "Tent City" consisted of an enormous circus tent that had wooden boards laid out for the floor. This main tent consisted of a dining room and a kitchen. Around it, in various places, "bedroom" tents were set up (McCurry).
The first lodge was opened on June 22, 1898. It was named Wilhelmina Inn in honor of Queen Wilhelmina, the queen of Holland. It was made up of massive stones that had been gathered from the surrounding area. In order to build the "Castle in the Sky" as it was often known as by the local residents, a three mile road also had to be built. Once the lodge was finished this road was used by travelers.
The lodge consisted of three stories and a stone tower. The inn included a 300 person dining room complete with two fireplaces, a lobby, thirty-five bedrooms, several bathrooms, and rooms for the hired-help. A royal suite for Queen Wilhelmina was also created in the southeast corner of the second story. There are many stories that the Queen did visit, but because of historic records it is now known that she never did visit the inn personally (Holleman 12-16).
The inn prospered for three years and then closed abruptly. There are many theories on why the inn closed but none of them can be proven. Some of these include transportation problems, a depression, and competition with ski resorts. The inn sat for many years deteriorating. Soon, it turned into a place for hunters and animals to escape from the weather.
In 1905 the inn was given away in a drawing where chances where sold for thirty dollars. E.A. Cotham won this drawing. Later, from 1906 to 1910 M. Maxwell ran the hotel. Not much was documented about the hotel during this time. In the 1920s the Shelton family which consisted of ten children used the inn as their home. As the inn became more and more depilated, it became known as "Dutchman's Folly" and the "Ghost Hotel". Later during the 1940s the lodge became the Centenary College which was a music school. It was organized by Earnest Rolston, who also was the teacher. Due to World War I, the school closed. Once again, the inn was left to fall into ruins (Vail).
Legend of Queen Wilhelmina's Visit
In the 1950s, a group from Mena including State Senator Roy Rials, Rep. L. Morrow, Carl Barham, Richard Barham, John Wood, Olen Wood, Bart Bretz, Billy Wood, Lake Wood, and Ernest St. John, brought the Queen Wilhelmina Inn and land surrounding it. In 1957 this land including the Inn was turned into a state park, the Queen Wilhelmina State Park. In 1959 what was salvageable of the old inn was used to make the new one. The new lodge consisted of two stories and twelve rooms but was very similar to the original. A new porch roof, a kitchen, and serving room were constructed to use as a restaurant which opened in 1961. The lodge officially opened June 22, 1963 (Mountain Memories, 22).
A fire in 1973 destroyed the second lodge. A third lodge was constructed based on the original lodge.
More information on the current Lodge
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An Ad for the First Lodge