The Smith Hotel

The Smith Hotel. . , Captain John E. Smith was Seneca's first entrepreneur. In 1858 he built a simple hotel and tavern on this site. He also built a wooden bridge over the Nemaha River that bypassed the risky ford crossing two miles north at Richmond. These developments convinced the firm of Russell, Majors, and Waddell to run their Overland Stage and Pony Express routes through Seneca. Smith Hotel became the first Pony Express Home Station west of St. Joseph., The hotel offered comfortable beds and good meals for weary travelers heading west. Pony Express riders were encouraged to avoid the tavern and head straight to bed for a good night's rest before setting out the next day., After the end of the Pony Express in 1861, Smith sold his hotel and Main Street grew up around it. In 1870, the first railroad arrived in Seneca and merchants wanted more prosperous-looking brick and stone buildings on Main. A brick addition to the right of the original hotel added more modern rooms. Eventually the original wooden structure was lifted and moved down Main to the north side of 7th Street where it became a rooming house. The space on the corner was filled in 1885 with this brick building.