Lehi Hotel

The oldest standing adobe hotel between Salt Lake City and Denver began as a blacksmith shop. Joseph Johnson Smith set up his forge and wagon shop on this spot in 1853, inside the western wall of the Lehi Fort; John Woodhouse turned it into a general store in the 1860s, using lumber left over from the abandoned Camp Floyd. In 1887 Smith built a hotel here for his plural wife, Sarah Ann — a fine "sample" house where traveling salesmen laid out their wares in the front rooms. Saloons and shops came and went beneath it for years.

What the plaque says

The Lehi Hotel is the oldest standing Adobe Hotel between Salt Lake City and Denver. As early as 1853, Joseph Johnson Smith operated a blacksmith and wagon shop on this site, which was inside the western wall of Lehi Fort. John Woodhouse expanded the shop into a general store in 1865, which he operated until 1886. Some of the building materials were surplus from Camp Floyd and are evident in the hotel today. In 1887, Joseph Johnson Smith built a hotel for Sarah Ann Lilliard Smith, his plural wife. The hotel, convenient to the railroad, was referred to as the finest “sample” hotel in the territory. The two front rooms were used by drummers to display and sell their wares. Business was sometimes conducted through a low window on the east side of the building. Many businesses have occupied part of the building, including a saloon, a cigar and candy shop, a cafe, and a dentist office. In 1929, Mary (Mame) Alice Smuin Thomas purchased the building for a family dwelling. When her children were grown, she periodically rented rooms. It was no longer used as a home after the 1960’s. Carl and Dimple Mellor purchased the property from Lyall and Audrey Thomas Wilson family in 1997. They researched the hotel’s history and restored the original portion as authentically as possible. Some pioneer history can be seen through glass windows in the floor where the foundation of the old blacksmith and remains of an old pioneer well still exist. The outside of the original building remains the same.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lehi Roller Mills — 0.4 mi
  The flour mill from the movie Footloose
• Thanksgiving Point — 5.1 mi
  A massive complex with dinosaur bones, gardens, and a curiosity museum
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument — 8.4 mi
  Three spectacularly decorated caves connected by hand-carved tunnels
• Alpine Loop Summit — 12 mi
  The 8,000-foot high point of the Alpine Loop, face to face with Mount Timpanogos

More markers nearby

• ZCMI Co-Op Building — steps away
• Lehi Veterans Memorial Building — 0.2 mi
• Lehi City Hutchings Museum Veterans Memorial Foyer — 0.2 mi
• Lehi Memorial Building — 0.2 mi