The History of the Inn

August Leimer aqcuired the property from the settlement society in 1838. It seems clear that there was a major building on the site in 1841, the year of the first tax assessments. In 1845, he took a mortgage on his property, probably intending to use the money to build the braced frame building present today. It may be, however, that he waited until 1847 to actually build the first part of the hotel as it was not until September 1847 that he received a license for a “dramshop”, or a bar/place that sells alcoholic beverages, an indispensable part of any contemporary inn. 

Between 1853 and 1855, Leimer built the two-story building adjoining the frame building on the east. The addition was intended as a dining room to serve the hotel and railroad passengers after railroad construction reached Hermann in 1855. The hotel became a notable local landmark and was featured in a famous lithograph of Hermann ca. 1860. 

August Leimer was one of the earliest settlers in Hermann when he was barely 20 years of age. He had become a member of the German Settlement Society while a resident of Philadelphia. He operated the Hermann Hotel until his death in 1866. The buildings continued to be used as a hotel, saloon and dining room for some time, under the more commonly used name, Leimer’s Hotel. In 1867, the hotel was described as such: “This is at present the principal and the only First Class Hotel in the place [Hermann]. Trains on the Pacific Railroad stop at this house, going east and west.” By 1870, however, after the construction of the White House Hotel, it appears that the hotel buildings were used as a rental property by then owner George Klinge, a local brickmaker. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, the buildings had a checkered career with a variety of uses.  

Notable disasters such as the Gasconade Steamboat Disaster of November 1, 1855 and the Big Hatchie Steamboat explosion on July 23, 1845, used the Leimer Hotel as a temporary hospital. To see pictures and full details about this disaster, please visit the Little Red Caboose Museum at the corner of 1st St & Gutenburg St, just two blocks from the inn. 

A full article by Bob Aubuchon, detailing the tragic Gasconade disaster can be read here: 

http://cprr.org/Museum/Gasconade_Disaster.html. 

More information regarding the Big Hatchie Steamboat explosion can be found here: https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/1845-july-23-steamboat-big-hatchie-boiler-explos-wharf-missouri-riv-hermann-mo-35/.

Suite 104 has an original saloon door, used as a sliding door to the bathroom, that was found during restoration. Additionally, guests staying in this suite will notice the window casements have a slant to them. Stories passed down tell us that gunslingers in the saloon used the windows for coverage and leverage during gun fights. 

In 2017, Mike & Donna Diener purchased the property and completed an extensive renovation, after demolishing most of the building down to the studs. They owned and operated Wharf Street Inn until their retirement on June 10, 2024 when Robby & Amanda Bax (the current owners) purchased the building and renamed the property, Wharf Street Riverfront Inn.