Colfax Hotel once center of activity

The Gillen Hotel, currently called Colfax Hotel, was built on March 12, 1903 by Daniel Gillen of Sacramento. Prior to building the hotel, Mr. Gillen had long held the responsible position of conductor on Southern Pacific trains.At the end of the railroad division, as well as the terminal of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge which ran to the towns of Grass Valley and Nevada City, Colfax was the outlet for large volumes of freight and passengers headed to mining towns like Iowa Hill and Forest Hill. Passengers arriving on trains at night stayed at the Gillen Hotel awaiting the day train to Grass Valley or Nevada City. The stage lines also brought passengers from the mining towns to Colfax.Later, Mr. Gillen built a large hall east of the hotel, at the corner of Grass Valley and Auburn streets. This was used principally for dances, but also for various town meetings, such as the annual 4th of July "exercises" and grammar school graduation ceremonies. The hall was known as the Gillen Pavilion. It had an open space under the eaves to allow the breezes on hot summer nights to cool the interior.The building was also equipped with a polished dance floor mounted on springs, which was very popular for dances in vogue at the time.There was also tennis courts nearby. Mr. Gillen was a terrific swimmer and spent many summers teaching the local children how to swim.He and his wife, along with their four children, Vera, Bernice, Thelma, and Daniel as well as Mrs. Gillen's mother, lived in rooms at the south end of the first floor of the hotel.In 1935, Grace Stone, (I remember her as Grandma Stone), purchased the hotel from a Mr. Dill for $8,000.At the time the dining room seated approximately 100 people.I learned that people would come from miles around to enjoy "grandma's" chicken and dumplings. The smell of her yeasty Parker House rolls permeated Colfax. Oil burning stoves were used for cooking and heating.Originally 56 rooms, each member of the Stone family and employees had their own quarters, leaving 44 rooms available to travelers.Most of the other rooms were inhabited by railroad engineers and firemen, who resided elsewhere, but used the Colfax Hotel as their second home (at the cost of $17.50 per week). Railroaders were "on call" in Colfax to place the helper engines on trains, which enabled them to pull loaded boxcars over Donner Summit. Grandma Stone served breakfast, lunch and dinner to this hard working group. And when she knew one of them had an early shift, (say, 3 a.m.), she would have a box lunch ready for him on the kitchen table.The hotel was kept as quiet as possible throughout the day out of respect for the men who worked various shifts and needed to sleep. Even the dining room conversation was kept low.After the Marvin Hotel burned down across the street from the Colfax Hotel, Mrs. Stone acquired the Greyhound and Burlington bus franchise and began serving those passengers in the dining room. In 1944 she sold the building to John Kauffman for $18,000. Over the years the hotel has had numerous owners. Sadly, the pavilion collapsed following a heavy snowload.The tennis courts faded away.I think everyone was hopeful the city would have a beautifully restored building when the current owner purchased the hotel and started repair work."Oh well, maybe the next owner!"