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The Sheridan Inn represents the establishment of modern culture in areas still ''wild and woolly'' prior to the coming of the railroad. When the Sheridan Inn opened in 1893, it was said by many to be the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. It immediately became the social center for the Big Horn country area which at that time attracted many big game hunting parties, including notables from all parts of the United States. The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad built into Sheridan, Wyoming, and constructed the hotel as a feature of its development program. George Holdrege, general manager for the railroad, conceived the idea for the hotel and gave to Thomas R. Kimball, an architect of Omaha, Nebraska, the task of designing the structure. Kimball modeled the Inn generally after a Scottish inn that he had visited and liked. The Sheridan Inn is credited with having had the first bathtub and electric lights in that part of Wyoming. William F. Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, is said to have led the grand march at the opening of the Inn. He operated the Inn from 1894 to 1896.