Welcome to the Hotel de Paris Museum.  The National Society of The Colonial Dames in the State of Colorado purchased the Hotel on May 4, 1954 and have restored it to the period, 1875 to 1900, when it was a functioning Hotel.
     To help visitors realize the atmosphere in which this Hotel was built and functional for 25 years some knowledge of the times could be useful.
     Georgetown was founded by George Griffith, a Kentucky farmer, who came to Colorado with the 59rs looking for gold in 1858.  Silver was discovered in 1864 which led to a "Silver Rush" and to the establishment of the silver camp now called Georgetown.  It was also known as the "Silver Queen".  
     Louis Dupuy, a Frenchman and miner, opened the Hotel de Paris in 1875.  Colorado became s state the following year and Rutherford B. Hayes was elected 19th President of the United States.  That same year, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
    In 1877 the railroad came to Georgetown.  Before that time goods and people came by wagon, pack train and horseback.  Two trains a day came bringing tourists, health seekers, traveling drummers (salesmen), mine operators and theatre troups.  The McClellan Opera House stood next to the Hotel, where the parking lot is now, until it burned in 1892.
     Other interesting happenings of that period include Edison's and Swan's independent invention of the electric light bulb in 1880.  The HOtel has two early incandescent bulbs in the cigar case in the Dining Room.  William F. Cody _Buffalo Bill" organized his "Wild West Show" in 1883.
     In France, Jules Grevy was President from 1879 to 1887.  He is remembered as the man who instituted anti-clerical laws.  The Paris World Exhibition openen in 1878.
     All of the furnishings and objets d'art are original to Louis' time unless otherwise indicated.  Any item accepted as a donation pre dates 1900.
     This booklet is an attempt to guide you through the Hotel and share with you the knowledge we have gathered concerning the furnishings.  Please enjoy yourselves. 

Welcome to the Hotel de Paris Museum!

Travelers came west during the 19th century intent on discovering gold, silver, and possibly a new life.  Those who came to Georgetown between 1875 and 1900 discovered something else:  a luxurious hotel - complete with fine food and wines, beautifully furnished  and decorated rooms, hot and cold running water.
     The National Society of the Colorado Dames in the State of Colorado purchased the hotel on May 4, 1954, and have restored it to the grandeur designed and built into it by its founder, a Frenchman named Louis Dupuy.  So you, too, can see the hotel as its 19th century guests saw it.
     To help you experience the atmosphere that enriched the hotel during its heyday, you need to know a little about those times.
     If you know anything about the "Old West," you know about the "49ers" who stampeded to California after the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848.  Not quite as well-known are the "59ers" who came to Colorado a decade later when gold was discovered at Cherry Creek.  Among them was a Kentucky farmer named George Griffith, who founded Georgetown.  When silver was discovered in the vicinity in 1864, the "gold rush" became a "silver rush."  Georgetown quickly grew from a small silver mining camp into a city known as the "Silver Queen."
     Louis Dupuy came to Georgetown as a miner, but soon envisioned a hotel here such as he remembered in his native France.  He opened the H ô tel de Paris in 1875, a year before Colorado became a state.  In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes was elected the 19th President of the United States.  That same year, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
     At the time the hotel was built, goods and people could get to Georgetown only by wagon, pack train, and horseback.  But in 1877, the railroad came to Georgetown.  Two trains a day came bringing tourists, health seekers, traveling drummers (salesmen), mine operators, and theatre troupes.  They could stay in the comfort of the H ô tel de Paris, and even enjoy an opera at the McLellan Opera House which stood next to the hotel, where the parking lot is, until it burned in 1892.
    Other interesting happenings of that period include Edison's and Swan's independent invention of the electric light bulb in 1880.  The hotel has two early incandescent bulbs in the cigar case in the Dining Room.  William F. Cody, Buffalo Bill, organized his "Wild West Show" in 1883.

This booklet outlines a self-guided tour through the Hotel.  It shares with you the knowledge we have gathered concerning the furnishings.  Please enjoy yourselves.
     All the furnishings and objets d'art in the hotel are original to Louis' time unless otherwise indicated.  Any item accepted as a donation pre-dates 1900.