The End of the Territory's First Hotel
The historic Eight House in Steilacoom, which once hosted Grant and Sheridan, has been destroyed by fire.
A telegram from Steilacoom says the Eight House, the chief hotel of the town, burned this afternoon, causing a loss of $2,000, with but little insurance. A defective flue was the cause. This was the first hotel built in Washington territory, having been erected in the 1850s. It was the scene of many notable territorial gatherings before the war, when there was a military post there and Steilacoom was the chief town on the Sound. Generals Sheridan, McClellan, and Grant had stopped at the hotel while on duty at Steilacoom, and much of the original structure remained standing until today.
“This was the first hotel built in Washington territory, having been erected in the 1850s.”
Steilacoom was once the primary hub of the Puget Sound region before Seattle's rapid expansion eclipsed it. The loss of the Eight House marks the disappearance of a physical link to the territorial era, when the town was a critical military and social center.
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