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Sheridan Inn Hotel in Sheridan, WY
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Death Valley Scotty

The Death Valley Scotty Room

Room 303

Born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, on September 20, 1872, Walter E. Scott spent his early childhood traveling the harness racing circuit with his family. At the age of 11, he left home to join his two brothers on a ranch near Wells in northeastern Nevada. Because of his experience with horses, Walter signed on with a horse drive to California in 1884. When he joined a crew surveying the California-Nevada boundary later that year, he made his first visit to Death Valley, beginning his lifelong love with this hot, barren region.

Death Valley ScottyIn 1888, at the age of 16, Walter joined Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show as a stunt rider. Here he learned how to perform, touring the U.S. and Europe for the next 12 years. Unable to rejoin the Wild West Show in 1902 after a marriage and a failed stretch of gold mining, Walter utilized his performance skills to convince the wealthy to grubstake his fictitious gold mine in Death Valley. By 1904, after more than $5,000 had been invested, Walter boarded an eastbound train carrying a bag supposedly holding $12,000 in gold dust. When the bag was mysteriously “stolen” before he reached Philadelphia, newspapers eagerly picked up the story, which launched Scott on another of his lifelong loves – his sprees of self-promotion. Walter was soon boasting he could break the rail speed record from Los Angeles to Chicago.
On July 9, 1905, he arrived in Chicago in just 44 hours and 54 minutes, and his train did indeed break the existing record for the 2, 265-mile journey. “We got there so fast that nobody had time to sober up,” was Walter’s description of the trip. Albert Johnson met Scott at the event and began to finance the factious gold mine. He was a lifelong supporter of Scotty, despite the lack of a mine. Johnson eventually decided to settle in Death Valley on Scotty’s land and build the Death Valley Castle.

On January 7, 1948, Albert Johnson died at the age of 76, leaving his ranch forever unfinished. Scotty lived in the Castle and each night regaled paying guests with his exploits over the past century. He had reached the pinnacle of his fame, becoming a tourist attraction in his own right. On January 5, 1954, Walter Scott, died at the age of 82. He was buried on the rocky hill northwest of the guest house at Scotty’s Castle next to his dog Windy.

303 Death Valley Scotty Bathroom 303DeathValleyScotty

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    Room Amenities

    The Death Valley Scotty room features 1 King size bed, a single lavatory, & tub with hand shower.
    All rooms have wired and wireless internet & individual heat/ac.

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    Colonel Prentiss Ingraham Room
    The Esquivel Brothers Room
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    Rooms Menu

    • Alexander Majors Room
    • Annie Oakley Room
    • Bill Pickett Room
    • Black Elk Room
    • Broncho Billy Room
    • Buffalo Bill Room
    • Colonel Prentiss Ingraham Room
    • Death Valley Scotty Room
    • Frank “White Beaver” Powell Room
    • Grand Duke Alexis Room
    • Lillian Frances Smith Room
    • Miss Kate Arnold Room
    • Nate Salsbury Room
    • Ned Buntline Room
    • Queen Victoria Room
    • Robert Summers Yellowtail Room
    • Rough Riders Room
    • Sitting Bull Room
    • Teddy Roosevelt Room
    • Texas Jack Room
    • The Esquivel Brothers Room
    • Wild Bill Hickok Room
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    Historic Sheridan Inn

    Sheridan Inn Hotel Reviews

    • 5 star review  The staff was friendly and made us feel at home. We arrived on a quiet evening so the woman behind the front desk showed us the historic bar (closed temporarily) and gave us a tour of the ladies social room and the ballroom. Afterwards we enjoyed fresh baked cookies by the fire and read up on Buffalo Bill.

      thumb Chris McBride
    • 5 star review  Great classic restored hotel. Nice rooms and comfortable beds.

      thumb david williams
    • 5 star review  Me and my father stayed here while on a business trip. Not only were they competitively priced, the inn itself is amazing. There's a charm unlike any other hotel I've been in. We were told they just renovated the rooms and it was certainly worth it. The rooms are beautiful and clean, and surprisingly quiet. I couldn't hear any traffic from outside. There was a connection available for a TV but no TV attached, which didn't bother me or my father, but it's something to be noted. The front desk attendant was friendly, and the continental breakfast was nice. We were told there was a falling out between the restaurant/bar (owner?) and the inn owner, so the restaurant was closed the night we were there, but it didn't bother us. We weren't planning on eating there anyways. The pictures around the hotel are fun to look at and show various stages of the inn's history, along with each room coming with information about Wyoming icons who have history with the inn. I highly recommend taking a bath in their claw-foot bathtubs. I had one when I was growing up and forgot just how nice they are. The only thing I think could make this nicer is glass water glasses, but that's only if they wanted to get REALLY fancy. I wouldn't recommend young children (under the age of 6). It's not that the hotel is bad for children, but rather the atmosphere and overall feel of the inn is probably boring (for them), unless the child is highly interested in history. We had a great stay and we highly recommend this place. I plan on coming back here when I go vacationing in Northern Wyoming.

      thumb Michelle
    • 5 star review  Again Super friendly informative staff. Beautifully furnished. If you enjoy the old west culture and history. This has it. We would stay again without hesitation

      thumb john ferdon
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    Sheridan Inn • 856 Broadway St, Sheridan, WY 82801 | (307) 674-2178