Train use went into decline and the Milwaukee began to experience financial difficulties. Homesteaders, their belongings, and building materials came in and grain and livestock were shipped out.įollowing WWI, falling grain prices and the worst drought in Montana history effectively ended large scale population growth in Central Montana. From 1900 to 1920, Fergus County’s population more than quadrupled, convincing both the Milwaukee and Great Northern railroads to build spur lines into Lewistown. The first decades of the twentieth century witnessed a great agricultural land boom throughout eastern Montana. For more history, see Yogo Inn Background and History. The Yogo Inn is named after the famous Yogo Sapphire mined exclusively in Central Montana and the only American gem found in the crown jewels of England.
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Additions were made to the facility and today the Yogo Inn is a full service hotel and convention center with 123 guest rooms and meeting and conference facilities able to accommodate 300 attendees. The company decided to incorporate the depot into a new 60-room hotel that was formally dedicated in 1963. When train use went into a decline and the last passenger train left the depot in 1955, the building was purchased by the Community Hotel Company in 1960. The heart of the building that is now the Yogo Inn was originally built to house Lewistown's Milwaukee Road train depot in 1913. One thing a hotel could do without is a disgruntled former chef who is prone to temper tantrums, as seems to happen at the Yogo. The inn may also be a major source of nighttime frights as, according to Haunted Places, some non-normal activities have taken place in the inn, experienced by both staff and guests. Since expanded into a 123 room hotel and convention centre, the hotel continues as the major source of accomodation in the town.
Fortunately, it was decided to incorporate the heritage depot into the hotel. The depot narrowly escaped its demise at this time as the original intention was to tear it down and build a hotel on the spot. A fundraising campaign realized a total of $526,000 which was put toward purchasing and renovating the depot. The town recognized the need for a new hotel and was aware that the old Milwaukee depot had recently become vacant.
In 19 the town lost its two largest hotels, the Fergus and the Burke, to fire. Built in 1913 by the Milwaukee Road, this old depot has, since August 3, 1963, been part of a hotel, today known as the Yogo Inn.
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