In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of Lake County this year, Lake County News is publishing a series of historical stories about the county, its people and places. This week's feature is about Upper Lake, written by Bernie Butcher who, along with his wife, Lynne, owns the Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon.
In August of 2003, my wife Lynne and I purchased and began restoring a derelict old hotel on the Main Street of the small Lake County town of Upper Lake.
The original Tallman Hotel had an interesting part to play in the early development of Lake County but, in researching the history, it is the sidebar connection to the Civil War and to the colonization of Argentina that I found most interesting.
The original Tallman House Hotel was built in the early 1870s by Lake County pioneer Rufus Tallman.
The hotel was part of a full-service facility consisting of hotel, livery stable and saloon designed to serve passengers traveling to Clear Lake and the nearby hot springs resorts.
By the 1880s, Upper Lake had become the terminus of the Cloverdale and Clear Lake stage line, which brought tourists to resorts such as Witter Springs, Saratoga Springs, Bartlett Springs and Le Trianon at Blue Lakes.
The hotel prospered for a while, then entered a period of decline and ceased to be occupied after 1962.
