Madeline Plains Changing Economy

Van Loan’s Hotel, Madeline, circa 1904.

Its never been easy to make a living on the Madeline Plains. By1920 many a homesteader’s dream was shattered and moved elsewhere to make a living.

As the old saying does, as one door closes, another opens. This was certainly the case for the Madeline Plains. The nation’s Prohibition brought opportunities for some. For the plains, its isolated location was not a hinderance for bootleggers. Far enough away from the eyes of law enforcement, but not too far to market is major product—jackass brandy.

For one person, Ira Evans, this did not sit well for him. Evan’s owned the two-story hotel in Madeline. He had difficulty in finding managers for the facility. The last one he hired, turned out to be a notorious  bootlegger. In 1929, enough was enough. Evans had the hotel dismantled. The salvaged lumber was taken to Alturas to build dormitory housing for the Pickering Lumber Company.

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