Owner's Response: Thanks, Shelley and her family for choosing us in little Stockholm WI This building was created by a German immigrant who came up the river in 1850's as a young man from St Louis. He must have fallen in love with the area or Elizabeth from Pepin WI. He eventually settled on the hotel site with his new wife in the early 1860's and soon was making BRICKS. He built the first half of the hotel where the dining room is, we think, in the mid 1860's. His name is Christian Godfrey BRUCHMAN, which in German seems to refer to a brick maker. His dream was to help push the TRAINS up through Wisconsin. He then Built the second part of the building and connected them in the mid 1870's when he was in his 60's. They had 9 children and none of them were lost in child hood, so there is much happiness in the building! Elizabeth had a restaurant all her adult life in the dining room of the hotel, family style. AND the trains did finally arrive in 1883. Christian passed in 1889. BUT . . . Another dream of his was to have a hotel for the travelers that were now getting off the train practically at his door step, and which divided his house from the lake. Since he had 6 bedrooms upstairs that he created by uniting these two structures, he felt it would fit perfectly. Except the union was uneven and two foundations sagged at different levels. Yes, the floors slant and there are humorous shapes to the doors which are original to the building. It is old! We have worked on the NORTH side & lifted the structure 3 in. Unfortunately it is not the hilton, it is a restored and quaint building that housed the dreams of a man & woman so long ago! We gently maintain it and accept its antiquity with joy. Now for the rest of the story. His son, Fredrick opened the hotel from 1914-1916, just 100 years ago! All dreams had come true! The entire West coast of Wisconsin is amazingly picturesque w/ the river flowing wide at Pepin which becomes Lake Pepin for some of the most beautiful days in Mark Twain's life and ours! Join us! Oh, and Shelley and her family accepted the "Trivia village hunt" I put out to them . . . "Find the gravestone of the founding father of the village" . . .and they did! Ask them what the prize was! (hint . . . there is a cow on the label and Wisconsin loves it ?) Again, we are honored with every guest that arrives and strive to make them feel welcome! The little hotel winked at me for years & I finally bought her and made her SHINE again! Love, Rebecca