I don’t know what Carrie Benham would think of this….

… but Harry (Bernard -our Harry, not Benham) has finished wiring the five guest bedrooms, our downstairs bedroom, the living room and the kitchen ‘puter for Internet, streaming media, cable and phone.

He thinks our signal from the upstairs might make it as far as the very top of Thurmond Hill.  And he’s installed hardware firewalls, secured login and all the other bells and whistles (of course).

What would Carrie say?

A century ago, when she wanted to talk to somebody, she leaned over the fence or had the operator connect her to another one of Sheridan’s phone.  If she wanted to send a ‘text message’, she wrote it by hand on stationary and stuck a 2 cent stamp on the envelope.

And media?  Streaming?  Well she might have had scratching media - a gramophone.

We’ve got six bedrooms and five bathrooms, an attic and a basement, living and dining rooms, a pantry, laundry room, garage, shed, back yard, front porch and hallways all with WiFi.  So now we can play ‘Words with Friends’ with someone else anywhere in the house without actually talking to them, or seeing them….

What would Carrie think of  this?

A mild Wyoming winter...... so far.

I was just talking with some of the guys at work.  They hail from all over the country.  We agreed that in most places there's a common saying that goes "If you don't like the weather in (fill in the blank), wait a minute" (or five minutes).

This is said in Wyoming too.

Today I'd like the weather NOT to change. 

Sure, we need the snow 'cause it melts and becomes our water supply for the year.  But shirtsleeve weather anytime after the winter solstice is something to cherish - and that's what we've got for a few hours today.

But I have seen the weather change in "five" while hunting in the Bighorns. 

November 1996

It was a lovely late fall day as I headed up to where our elk camp was going to be.  I parked the 'ol truck when it couldn't go any steeper (is steeper a word?), and started walking.  After about 40 minutes under a cloudless sky the sun gave out.  I looked over my shoulder to see a fog bank approaching - - - fast.

Now a winter fog in the Bighorns is not tentative.  It rolls in like a battalion of German Panzers.  Relentlessly.   Unstoppable.  Certain.  Only there's no Panzer noise. It is silent, muting all other sounds as it just rolls over you and keeps on going.  One minute you can see the ridgeline 500 yards in front of you, the next one you can barely see your hand at the end of your arm.

My brain had a tug of war.  "Stay on the path, you'll find the campsite" vs. "Stop now, seek shelter."  I chose door #2 and it saved me from bigger problems.

A night in the bosom of a stand of trees with little food and less water is what happened next.  In the morning I dug my way through 3 feet of new snow to see that blue sky had replaced the fog - and snow was everywhere - stretching from horizon to horizon.

I could see I was only about 30 minutes from our camp - AND it was 90 compass degrees away from where I'd planned to head the evening before.

Thanks to snow up to my whatever, my 30 minute treck took 90, and when I found the campsite I was famished.  And food-less.  I dug around in the ring of rocks we used to contain our fires and found some potato peelings, a charcoaled hunk of onion and a piece of mystery meat still on a bone which looked like a rib.  Venison?  Deer meat?  Human?  Dog?  Didn't matter, it was dead and I wasn't.

Knowing my hunting partners had more knowledge of the mountians than I did,  I gathered fire wood and settled in to wait for them to show up with all the camping gear, some food and some coffee.

They did.  I didn't get my elk that weekend - but I sure got a great story to tell when someone says "If you don't like the weather in Wyoming, wait a minute."

Then and now: Residence Hill Bed and Breakfast

Then

Think 1907 in Sheridan, Wyoming.  The Wild West is tamed… well, sort of (it will never be completely tamed).  The nearby Crow Indians have made peace. 

North of town, Fort McKenzie is growing brick by brick, and the Buffalo Soldiers, Calvary of the 25^th Infantry, are practicing drill on their proud, strong steeds.

It is almost three decades before the Sheridan WYO rodeo officially begins, but at nearby ranches, cowboys are breakin’ broncs, ropin’ steers and tyin’ calves for branding.

At the Sheridan Coal Company, a couple of seams of coal are being mined, with the promise of more lies below.  Everywhere east of the Big Horns, the spring runoff has swollen the creeks: Big and Little Goose, Piney Creek, Wolf and Prairie Dog race downhill toward the Tongue River and the Powder River Country  so that Rocky Mountain melted snow can carry the paddlewheels from Memphis to Natchez.

Listen carefully and you can hear a hawk calling his mate as he glides without apparent effort, in circles on outstretched wings, seeking with his amazing vision… his lunch.

Listen again and you can hear a 4-8-4 coal fired locomotive of the C B & Q Railroad as it crests the hill east of town, bringing a load of rough oak lumber, leaded glass windows, nails, brass hardware, pipes and wire for a special house.

On a hilltop just southwest of the courthouse, a man sits in his horse drawn carriage with a set of architect’s plans in his lap.  He is Harry Benham, owner of Big Horn Lumber, and he’s ready to build the proud majestic home we now call the Residence Hill Bed and Breakfast.  He tilts his head and smiles when the train engineer hits its whistle, because Harry Benham knows what is on that train for him.

Harry will start building his dream home tomorrow.

You can sleep in Harry Benham's home tonight, but right now, its still 1907 and he’s off down the hill to tell Carrie and the children.

+ - + - + -

Think 1997 in Sheridan, Wyoming.  The Bernard’s are looking for another investment.  They’ve had modest returns on a few rentals and want to grow their portfolio.  They are looking for an easy to repair, easy to rent house at a decent price. They look at several disappointing prospects over a week or two and then are shown an old Victorian which needs a lot of work. A LOT of work! Bev says it would be a lousy rental.  Rob agrees.

But they fall in love with it and buy it anyway.

Now

Fast forward nine years.  Rob and Bev have returned to Sheridan after living in the Middle East for more than half a decade.  There is only a brief discussion about which house they want to occupy.  At 450 South Thurmond, hard livin’ as a rental has taken its toll.  But Rob and Bev have a history of loving the unloved and seeing promise in neglected kids and challenging places.

They dig into and through a century’s accumulated coal dust and spider webs, replace loose windows and a monster boiler that looks like something from a Jules Verne novel.  They refinish floors, re-wire, re-paint and re-almost everything large portions of the house.

And the grand old lady again takes her rightful place as one of the crown jewels of Residence Hill.

Now you can join Bev and Rob and call the Residence Hill B&B your ‘home’, at least while you are in Sheridan.

Harry C. Benham

Home builder, entrepreneur, civic leader.

1862-1926

House History

In 1907 Big Horn Lumber owner Harry C. Benham bought land and built a house on the top of Residence Hill.  Mr. Benham was an entrepreneur and community leader.  The house he built for Carrie and himself was the one of the first on the hill – it was the Queen of the Hill.  Today you can enjoy the extraordinary quality and craftsmanship of the house.  Most of the oak features a unique grain pattern known as ‘tiger stripe’.  As owner of Big Horn Lumber, we surmise Mr. Benham hand selected the wood for his new house.

A century later, in 2006, we began the long delayed task of returning the house to its former dignity and grace. In the words of a young friend “You didn’t remodel this house, you’ve given it a ‘Total Makeover’!”, and we have.  We believe you’ll appreciate our restoration and the newer amenities we’ve added.

Why Residence Hill?

Residence Hill is the name on the original subdivision plats in county records. For decades the neighborhood has also called ‘Pill Hill’, because many town doctors lived here.

The broad front porch of the Residence Hill Bed & Breakfast may be the one of the best spots in Sheridan to sit and watch the world go by.  A century ago, this spacious front porch delivered a panoramic view of the eastern rim of the big Goose Valley and you could look northward almost to Crow Indian country.  Today the hill is populated with trees and homes, so the view is no longer unobstructed.  Still one can get a sense of what Harry and his family and guests saw.

Rob and Bev, your hosts, are world travelers, and have been to more than thirty countries.  The Great Room and dining room feature artifacts from four continents. Although large, several sitting areas in the Great Room offer a place for solitude or intimate conversation and the dining room’s king-sized table is just right for family style breakfasts.

The modern kitchen makes it easy to prepare hearty meals or lighter fare.  Freshly ground coffee, hot from the oven pastries and rolls, fresh fruit?  Bev’s breakfasts might be the best meal of your day!