The need for a new hotel in Douglas came about when the Valley House Hotel was
scheduled for demolition in 1914 to make way for the Chicago Quincy and Burlington
Railroad. In 1913 a group of Douglas businessmen met and organized a company to
construct a new large hotel. The Douglas Hotel Company was incorporated on February 14,
1913, with five Directors (Edward T. David, Alva C. Rice, Otto H. Bolln, George H. Cross, and
George Smith). The corporation raised $25,000 by selling shares of stock in the corporation.
The hotel was constructed on three lots owned by E.T. Davis located at the corner of 2nd and
Walnut for a reported cost of $55,000.
      H.O. Emery entered into a 10-year lease on November 20, 1913 and spent approximately
$15,000 on furnishings. Furniture was purchased form the Denver Dry Goods Company and
the bar fixtures and billiard tables were purchased from the Brunswick-Balke Company. The
back bar was reportedly made in England and delivered by ship along with a similar bar that
went to the Erma Hotel in Cody. (The back bar was donated to The Wyoming Pioneer
Museum, located at the State Fair Park in Douglas, in 1969 by Harry and Rachel Johnston).

             The hotel opened on January 26, 1914, with 54 guest rooms on the upper two floors,
and a kitchen, dining room, lobby, barbershop, billiard hall, and bar on the ground floor. The
hotel boasted electric lights, phones in every room, a marble topped hotel desk, and ornate
tile in the lobby. The LaBonte was well received and became a focal point for banquets and
other functions within the community.
              The LaBonte was operated over the next fifty-three years by various operators and
lessees with varying degrees of success and but with too little attention paid to maintenance
and modernization. In 1967, Harry and Rachel Johnston, long time residents of Douglas,
purchased the LaBonte. Harry had a successful building business and Rachel taught in the
Douglas school system for over 20 years. The Johnstons began an extensive remodel of the
old hotel in 1967 at a cost of over $250,000. Ten apartments were constructed on the third
floor and twenty-three hotel rooms, each with its own bath, were refurbished with brass
beds and other turn of the century furnishings. An elevator was installed; the bar was moved
to the east wing.  The back bar was donated to The Wyoming Pioneer Museum, located at the
State Fair Park in Douglas, in 1969 by Harry and Rachel Johnston. The adjoining property to
the east was purchased by the Johnstons and converted into the present parking lot.
 In 1982 a fire practically gutted the hotel but the Johnstons, with the help of the insurance
proceeds, immediately began rebuilding the hotel. The rebuilding was finished in early 1984 
and Leonard and John Miller purchased the LaBonte. The Millers constructed the present
dance hall/meeting room in the courtyard and place a giant Jackalope on the roof of the
dance hall.
            The LaBonte had two more owners before being the subject of a foreclosure in 2003, which
resulted in the hotel being closed for over two years. After a very short attempt to open the
hotel in late 2004 the present owners purchased the LaBonte on Friday, May 13th, 2005.
 The present owners, H.R. and Judy Johnston have replaced most of the kitchen equipment and intend                                                                     to restore the LaBonte to its former glory with a strong emphasis on the LaBonte’s history and                                                                             traditions. H.R. Johnston is the son of Harry and Rachel Johnston and the on site manager, Tyler (Ty)                                                          Johnston is Harry and Rachel’s grandson.
         Tell Em I’ll Meetcha At The LaBonte