The Rose Hotel - Bed & Breakfast in Southern Illinois, Elizabethtown, IL

About & History

The Rose Hotel was built in 1812 on the limestone bluffs of the Ohio River by James and Elizabeth Mcfarlan (d). The McFarlan's moved to the Illinois territory in 1810. In 1812 they built the earliest portion of the Rose Hotel. In 1848 the east addition was constructed, then 1865 the rear addition was added. In 1882 the summer house (also known as the Gazebo) was built on the edge of the lime stone bluff and is still in use today for weddings and various other outings. In 1889 the building of the 2 story verandah was added to the hotel. The hotel's history dates back to the Mcfarlan and Rose Families. The Mcfarlan Tavern became known as the Mcfarlan Hotel after the first addition created rooms to rent. The hotel did a lucrative business during this period when river traffic was at it's zenith, however, business declined, as it did for other inland river towns, after the rise of the railroads.

The hotel stayed in the McFarland family until it was acquired in 1891 by Sarah E. Rose, and was then renamed The Rose Hotel. Sarah Rose had worked at the hotel for seven years, prior to purchasing it. The Rose Hotel passed to her daughter Charlotte Rose Gullet upon Sarah Rose's death in 1939, and remained in the Gullet Family until it was purchased in 1989 by the State of Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. After a two-year, $1.5 million state funded restoration, This Grand Rose Hotel is now open, and operating as a bed & breakfast.
In the North section of the yard is an old cemetery with some grave markers and head stones of the McFarlan family. Names and dates are difficult to read. James Mcfarlan is buried there. His marker states he was born in 1776 and died in 1837. Also another bit of history is The Anna Bixby Trail. The Rose Hotel marks the beginning of an early trail traveled by Anna Bixby, a midwife and herb doctor. While caring for the sick in the Rock Creek communities, 8 miles northeast of the hotel, a century before recognition was given by the American Medical Society, Anna made the discovery that white snakeroot was the case of an epidemic of milk sickness which ravaged the area around 1830.

In August of 2004 The Grand Rose Hotel was awarded to new managers Bob & Sandy Vinyard of Hardin County. Just stop in, or give them a call, they would love to here from everyone. A Special thank you to Noel Hurford of the Hardin County Independent for providing the use of his information and also to Paula Dorris for information on the history of the Grand Rose Hotel. If only these walls could talk! Lots and lots of history have happened here.

History Photos of the Rose Hotel





	Mr. Lawrence & James Gorden Gullet


Gazebo in front of the Rose Hotel around 1909	The Rose Hotel in the 1937 Flood


Gazebo in Front of the Rose Hotel - Flood of 1913	Gazebo in Front of the Rose Hotel - Flood of 1913