Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming · Founded 1904 · Building: 1903–1904
Yellowstone's 1904 log hotel remains a landmark of American rustic park architecture beside Old Faithful geyser.
Old Faithful Inn was designed by Robert C. Reamer and built during the winter of 1903–1904 with local logs and stone. The National Park Service describes it as the largest log structure in the world and a National Historic Landmark. It remains a seasonal lodging facility at Yellowstone's Old Faithful area, operated by Yellowstone National Park Lodges under National Park Service concession authority.
Construction begins on Old Faithful Inn near the geyser for which it was named.
Source: National Park Service, "Old Faithful Historic District"
Old Faithful Inn opens to guests.
Source: National Park Service, Yellowstone history materials
The Hebgen Lake earthquake shakes the Old House from its foundation and damages its roof and chimneys. The inn closes early for the winter and reopens the following summer.
Source: National Park Service, "Old Faithful Historic District"
Old Faithful Inn receives National Historic Landmark designation.
Source: National Park Service, Yellowstone National Historic Landmark records
The North Fork Fire destroys small buildings nearby, but Old Faithful Inn is preserved with help from firefighters, roof sprinklers installed the prior year, and a shift in wind direction.
Source: National Park Service, "Old Faithful Historic District"
Old Faithful Inn continues seasonal lodging operations through Yellowstone National Park Lodges, an authorized National Park Service concessioner.
Source: National Park Service, Old Faithful Inn place record, updated August 15, 2026
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The National Park Service describes Old Faithful Inn as the largest log structure in the world. The statement should be attributed to NPS and not expanded with unsupported construction-method comparisons.
The National Park Service identifies the inn as an exemplary large-scale use of rustic architecture designed to complement Yellowstone's natural landscape. Its National Historic Landmark status recognizes that architectural importance.
The story circulates as modern ghost-tour folklore, but this audit found no reliable historical documentation for the claimed murder. A later account reports that a former inn manager said the tale was invented in the 1980s to attract tourists; that account is not primary evidence, but it reinforces that the story should not be presented as historical fact.
The inn's haunted reputation and the Headless Bride story are documented as modern folklore in published ghost-story accounts. This establishes the reputation, not the existence of a ghost or the historic truth of the alleged murder.
Everything below has been reported by two or more independent sources — this is an informational record of what's said about this place, not a verified account of paranormal activity. Still Open America doesn't certify hauntings as real.
Guests and some staff accounts describe a translucent woman in a flowing white bridal dress moving across the Crow's Nest or descending its staircase while holding her head under one arm. Retellings often place her near Room 127 or looking down from the upper interior balcony.
Former Old Faithful complex assistant manager George Bornemann said he invented the 1915 bride-murder story in 1983 after hearing footsteps in the empty inn, and no legitimate record of the alleged murder was located.
When the inn is quiet or closed for the season, employees and visitors have reported hearing footsteps or someone running through hallways despite finding no one there. This sound report predates and is distinct from the later headless-bride backstory, according to the former manager who created that story.
Old Faithful Inn was destroyed, or nearly destroyed solely by firefighters, during the 1988 Yellowstone fires.
The inn did not burn in the North Fork Fire. The National Park Service credits firefighters, roof sprinklers installed the previous year, and a shift in wind direction with helping preserve it; small buildings nearby were destroyed.
Source: National Park Service, "Old Faithful Historic District"
The Headless Bride story is a documented 1915 murder at Old Faithful Inn.
The story is modern haunted-lore material, not a verified historical murder in the sources reviewed for this audit. It should be treated as invented or unverified folklore rather than as documented inn history.
Source: Haunted 307, "The Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park," 2018
The inn survives because it is woven into Yellowstone's visitor infrastructure rather than existing as a detached historic artifact. National Park Service stewardship, concessioner operation, maintenance, and emergency protection have kept it in use through earthquake damage, wildfire danger, and modern interruptions in lodging operations. During the 1988 North Fork Fire, firefighters, rooftop sprinklers installed the previous year, and a shift in wind direction helped preserve the building.
Architect Robert C. Reamer designed Old Faithful Inn. The National Park Service says the inn was built during the winter of 1903–1904 with local logs and stone, and it opened to guests in 1904.
No. The North Fork Fire destroyed small buildings near Old Faithful Inn in September 1988, but the inn survived. According to the National Park Service, firefighters, rooftop sprinklers installed the prior year, and a change in wind direction helped protect it.
Yes. Old Faithful Inn is a seasonal Yellowstone lodging facility operated by Yellowstone National Park Lodges, an authorized National Park Service concessioner. The National Park Service lists its 2026 operating season as May 1 through October 12, though dates and services can change.
3200 Old Faithful Inn Rd, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190
(307) 344-7311
The inn operates seasonally; confirm current lodging dates, services, and public-building access before visiting.