In 1873, at the age of twenty-one Philip Brubeck gave his son, Lewis a horse. Shortly afterwards, Lewis left his native Indiana and headed to California. His first stop was the Honey Lake Valley. He decided to stay for awhile and took up a homestead near the Mapes Ranch east of present day Litchfield. He became acquainted with his neighbors, especially the Grass household. On February 4, 1877 at Janesville Lewis married Louisa Grass, who was also a native of Indiana.

Like so many, Lewis was thinking the grass must be greener on the other side of the fence. In 1881, he purchased 151 acres from E.C. McKenney of Reno for $350. The property was located on the east shore of Honey Lake, and consisted what was designated at the time as Lower Hot Springs. No one had resided there since the Pearson Massacre of 1868. The first order of business was lumber for a house and fence posts for property improvements. This presented a challenge as the nearest sawmills were located a considerable distance away on the west side of the Honey Lake Valley. At Milford he had a  raft constructed to float the lumber across Honey Lake to his new home. 

Life was fairly uneventful there during the 1880s, though by the end of the decade Lewis and Louisa now had five children—William Andrew, Edna, Philip, Peter Howard and Mabel. In August 1890 the Brubeck family experienced a dramatic change in their lives. Located ten miles to the south was Leigan the terminus of the Nevada and California Railroad. Within a matter of months, the railroad extended its line north to Brubeck’s to become the new terminus named Amedee. 

The first item of business for Brubeck was to move his house next to the railroad. Thus, he began the transition from rancher to an innkeeper. He was overwhelmed with business. In December 1890, Brubeck’s new Pioneer Hotel opened for business. The second floor contained eight guest rooms. On the first floor, there was a ladies parlor, two dining rooms, bar and the kitchen to feed the guests. He took advantage of the hot springs, and built a small bath house. Business was brisk. Brubeck expanded his horizons by opening a livery stable. Amedee was on the verge of becoming a “boom town.”  Brubeck’s dining rooms were serving over 200 people day. He ended up using his livery stable as an overflow to his hotel.

To be continued tomorrow.