The Hotel Charbonneau was originally constructed in 1912 by Charles and Dora Charbonneau (architects PJ Young and Charles Charbonneau). During the first half of the 20th century, Priest River and the Hotel Charbonneau, which is located one block away from where the train station used to be, was a popular stopping-off point for people traveling to nearby Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint, and Priest Lake. In 1920, Dora Charbonneau added a brick addition onto the south side of the hotel to accommodate more guests. After the brick addition was built, the Hotel Charbonneau boasted 27 guest rooms with more than half of them having their own private bathrooms; an extravagant luxury at that time.
The Charbonneau operated as a hotel/boarding house until the late 1980s when it was abandoned and risked being condemned. In 1991 the Priest River Restoration and Revitalization Committee (PRRRC), a local non-profit group composed entirely of volunteers, took control of the Hotel Charbonneau and saved it from complete deterioration. Among the PRRRC's accomplishments was having the Hotel Charbonneau added to the National Register of Historic Places (11/19/1991), which protects the historic structure for future generations.
The Hotel Charbonneau is currently privately owned and undergoing restoration.
You can see the Hotel Charbonneau in the 1914 photo above on the left. The photo was taken before the brick addition was built.
Shortly after the Hotel Charbonneau was constructed, Dora Charbonneau (seen above) acquired sole ownership of the hotel in a divorce from her husband. She operated the hotel for nearly 40 years. The hotel was noted for it’s tasty meals and fine accommodations that allowed Charbonneau to charge more than competitors. She died in Spokane around 1950.
Nell Shipman, actress and female filmmaker and founder of Lionhead Lodge, a film studio at Priest Lake, was treated to a luncheon at the Hotel in 1923 by the Society Ladies of Priest River to celebrate Nell's achievements in cinema and to thank her for purchasing uniforms for the town band. Honored, Nell gave a speech, then was serenaded by the town band in front of the Hotel. Nell was a regular at the Hotel Charbonneau any time she travelled to and from her studio at Priest Lake.