ENTERPRISE — The historic Sam Litch Building in downtown Enterprise is once again open for business under a new moniker: the Litch Hotel, a complex of 13 units for visitors to Wallowa County to enjoy bits of the county’s history.

“We wanted to feature things people might not know about,” said Andy McKee, who owns and restored the building with his brother, Todd.

The units

In the hotel’s lobby at the corner of Main and River streets is a giant map created by John Michener.

“It’s the largest map of the Eagle Cap Wilderness anywhere,” Andy McKee said, noting it shows points of interest around the area.

McKee said he’d wanted to have a map of the entire county, but it turned out to not be practical. Wallowa County covers a little more than 2 million acres. The Eagle Cap Wilderness is about 360,000 acres.

Also in the lobby is a large painting of the Wallowa Mountains towering over the valley floor.

At first glance, the spaces in the Litch Building resemble storefronts — which many were at one time. But on closer inspection, each is a separate unit with a unique story.

The wide-open windows initially appear to give little privacy, but they have blinds that lower electronically.

The units come in different sizes that sleep different numbers of guests. The total capacity is about 45.

On the ground floor are four one-bedroom units, two two-bedroom units and one three-bedroom unit. The second floor features five two-bedroom units and one one-bedroom unit.

All feature king-sized beds, have full kitchens with quartz countertops, tiled bathrooms with walk-in showers and custom high-end finishes throughout.

Andy McKee said the units have “proven really popular for the people who have stayed here. Many are return guests.”

The largest unit boasts a Wallowa Lake theme and shows numerous scenes from around the lake.

The Nez Perce Unit, named for the original inhabitants of the Wallowa Valley, features paintings and photos of tribal members, painted depictions of camas plants — a primary source of food for the tribe — and one wall shows horses the tribe is noted for raising.

The sale of horses to settlers was once a major source of income for the tribe.

A bison robe adorns another wall.

“We wanted it to be like a walking museum, not just with pictures of Chief Joseph,” McKee said.

Other units boast themes based on camping and the wilderness, the mountains, a ski unit to focus on the Ferguson Ridge Ski Area, an aviation unit upstairs, a lumber mill unit because of the importance of the lumber industry in the county, and the Rexall Unit, in what was a former Rexall Drug Store.

There’s also a train unit because much of the county’s early settlement was facilitated by the railroad.

“It really opened things up in the county,” McKee said. “Before that, folks had to take everything in and out by stagecoach. The train was running seven days a week.”

Renting a unit

McKee said the best way to rent a unit is to visit shorturl.at/lyObW. There, guests can select the unit and the length of time they desire.

Guests also can go online to Airbnb or Vrbo, but those sites tack on a fee.

“It saves you about 10% if you go directly through us,” McKee said.

Prices vary according to the seasons. The smaller units are about $100 a night during winter, while the larger one is $300 a night. Rates go up during tourist season when there’s greater demand.

But most of the year it’s at the lower rate.

“We have about eight months of winter here,” he laughed.

Prospective guests also can reach the hotel by calling 541-426-1155.

When calling, guests will reach Andy or Todd. The McKees want to make sure customers know they’re reaching them and getting a familiar feel when calling.

“We want them to connect with us and ensure them we’re not just some big corporate conglomerate,” Andy McKee said.

The building

The McKees did most of the work on the Litch Building. The original building was constructed in the early 1880s as a one-story wooden structure, according to the Oregon Historic Sites Database. Over its lifetime, it has housed a saloon, a general mercantile store, an antique store and other incarnations.

A fire in August 1902 destroyed the building, which was replaced the following year by another wood-frame structure. In 1907, according to the website, Samuel and Ella Litch bought a partial interest in the building for $10,000. In 1909, Sam Litch announced plans to construct a stone building on the site and a second story was added.

More than a century later, the McKee brothers — who hail from Colton and who have lived in Enterprise about a dozen years — started a restoration project in 2017 with the goal of turning the building into a hotel. According to a 2019 Chieftain story, they received a $200,000 matching Main Street grant through Oregon’s State Historic Preservation Office.

Through a bank and private financing, the brothers came up with another $525,000 for the project. When all is said and done, Todd said, the project will cost close to $2 million.

By keeping Sam Litch’s name on the hotel they’re paying tribute to an early developer in the county.

“He was a visionary,” Andy said. “He was one of the first … to have a farm that had electricity.”

The restoration project involved considerable work.

“A whole section of the building would’ve collapsed if we hadn’t come in here and put in steel beams and done this work, because this was originally a single story on the corner and they built right on top of the single story,” McKee said. “(The portion) that was built in 1909 was (Bowlby) stone, but when they put the second story on, they didn’t beef up anything, so it’s been a continual problem over the years. There were 40 broken floor joists in here, so it was really only a matter of time before the whole corner collapsed.”

Andy handled the bulk of the construction and design, while Todd did the “nuts and bolts” and business side of things, though there’s some crossover.

“We’ve tried as much as possible to make it look as though it was period,” Andy McKee said. “But we didn’t want it to look like a bunch of storefronts. We wanted it to look period so people couldn’t tell all of what we did.”

One item they still have yet to replace is the flagpole atop the front corner. A couple of years ago, they had a 25-foot aluminum pole that was supposed to withstand up to 100-mph winds. It wasn’t long before high winds bent that pole so they’re replacing it with a steel pole from Stangel Industries. This one will not only be stronger, it’ll be shorter at 15 feet.

But the flagpole is more than just to fly the Stars and Stripes. It also serves as a lightning rod, which most people won’t notice. Andy said it’s grounded in the alley behind the building.

“A lot of the things that we did, people don’t realize until you see it for yourself,” McKee said.

Also, all the hardwood floors — except for the lobby — are original.

Family

The brothers and their families are the chief source of labor to operate the hotel. Andy’s wife, Vanessa, and Todd’s wife, Senait, are the biggest help, as are the six kids in the two families.

“All of them don’t work, but those who can, do,” Andy said.

But the main thing is to make sure the hotel gives a unique feel that celebrates Wallowa County.

“We didn’t want to do some weird hotel that was themed about UFOs or something,” Andy said. “We wanted to show something that was really interesting about our county.”

LITCH HOTEL

What: Vacation rentals

Where: Corner of North and Main streets, Enterprise

Phone: 541-426-1155

Email: support@eaglecaprealestate.com