When Hartington’s Grand Hotel burned in 1916, the town didn’t just rebuild — the Commercial Club raised the money by selling shares to locals, and the resulting 1917 hotel opened to a crowd of a thousand. That community-built landmark, on the National Register since 2003, got a down-to-the-studs renovation in 2018.
Seventeen rooms split across four wings, each with its own living area; a big ballroom for weddings and graduations; and the best part, a speakeasy-style bar in the basement. Much of the 1917 character survived the renovation — no elevator, two flights of stairs, and all the better for it.
It’s the obvious base for northeast Nebraska’s Missouri River country — Ponca State Park and the river bluffs are within easy reach.