The Mistress’s Chamber

Summary: Back in 1899, this room may have been the private bedroom of H.B. Wardman’s wife Catherine, who was 27 years younger than her husband. It’s also possible that it served as her private boudoir or dressing room. It’s now a queen bedroom with a private en suite bathroom. The room has late Victorian-era furniture, including a sleigh-style bed, along with an internet-connected TV with streaming apps and a mini fridge.

This room can be booked on its own for up to two people, or it can be reserved along with the adjoining Master Suite to create one large space suitable for up to five guests. The two suites have an optional connecting door that can be opened or locked for privacy. Check our current availability for the Master Suite during booking, or call and ask us for more information at 605-920-0626.

Features: The bedroom is newly updated, but it retains its historic charm, including the original 19th-century fir floors and large bay windows. It’s furnished with a queen mattress in an antique high-backed oak bedframe. The 40-inch television is internet-connected, and an antique dresser showcases locally-sourced antique art. The en suite private bathroom, renovated in 2022, has a toilet, vintage pedestal-style single-sink vanity, and a walk-in shower.  

Groups: This room can only host two guests, but it can be booked along with the adjoining Master Suite to create a large set of rooms for up to five people.

Light: The room has three large windows that face west and get direct sunlight in the afternoon. All three windows can be opened. The views are over the Presidential District and the surrounding pine-covered hillsides. It’s possible to see the historic Yates Shaft headframe towering over the former Homestake Gold Mine - now the Sanford Deep Underground Science Laboratory - atop a hill three miles away.

History: This set of rooms were meant for the owners when the house was built in 1899. Although this room could have been a private bedroom for H.B. Wardman’s wife Catherine, the couple likely slept next door in the same bed, and this was probably used as her boudoir or dressing room - although it may also have been used as her sewing room, or as a ladies’ parlor where the women could retire after a formal dinner. Though each bedroom was probably built with its own sink - and there’s some evidence that this chamber had its own clawfoot tub - the entire family would have shared the large full bathroom down the hall. Sometime in the last part of the 20th century, a portion of this room was sacrificed to add another small bathroom to the second floor. The innkeepers used these bedrooms as personal quarters until the summer of 2020, when the basement was renovated into an owner’s apartment.