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HISTORY OF THE HOUSE

Mitterand's Boarding House is a Victorian style home built in 1898 by Pierre and Paulette Mitterand. Opened as a boarding house in 1904, it has been operated by the Mitterand family ever since.

Pierre made his fortune during the heady days of the Gold Rush - quite by accident. He had traveled west, not to find gold, but to serve meals to the hungry miners. He developed a "Wild West" variation of traditional French cuisine, serving Buffalo Bourguignon (buffalo meat stewed in red wine), Escargot de Legume (snails and baked beans), Crepes Jerky (flat pancakes wrapped around beef jerky) and the ever popular Miner's Bouillabaisse (basically a stew made out of leftovers).

One day his Miner's Bouillabaisee went horribly wrong - it tasted "burnt" - so he went over to a nearby stream to dump the stew and to wash out his pot-au-feu. When he poured the nasty concoction onto the rocks, it dissolved the outer crustation of what appeared to be a common boulder; underneath was one of the largest nuggets of gold ever discovered in the 19th century. The total weight was 744 pounds, 12 ounces - worth almost $250,000!

Having made his forture, Pierre traveled north with his family and built his mansion in the town formally known as Change, Washington. The first home was flattened in 1895, as were so many others, as a direct result of the "Big Bang". Three years later, in the rechristened town of Boomtown, the home was completely restored to its former glory.

The three story mansion features eight beautifully appointed bedrooms, including the attic level "Bird's Eye Turret" with 180 degree views of Boomtown, facing east to the sunrise. Each floor level has large, shared bathroom facilities and a sitting area.

A comfortable porch extends across the front of the house, with a view of the luscious 4 acre garden directly across Run for Your Life Road. Many of the fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs for the daily gourmet French breakfast are grown in this garden.

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ROOM RATES

Rooms are available for single nights, weekends, full week stays, or even longer.

Double occupancy:
$49.00/week night (Sunday-Thurs)
$59.00/weekends (Friday-Saturday)
$45.00/night (seven days)
Longer (inquire for rates)

MEALS

Each guest receives breakfast as part of their lodging. Lunch (per person) is $6.95 and Dinner (per person) is $8.95 and includes a wide variety of non-alcoholic beverages. All meals are served family style.

RESERVATIONS

Reserve early, especially during popular Boomtown events (such as 4th of July, the mid-August River Regata, mid-March Spring Fever Festival, Slugs Football season, Christmas week, etc.)

The front porch, where you might spend hours reading a book or talking to friends on a warm, summer evening.

Meals are served "family style".
We encourage guests to meet and mingle.
Friends for a minute - then friends for a lifetime.

The gourmet French-style breakfasts are something that will keep you coming back to Mitterand's over and over.

Several of the bedrooms include
sitting areas with gas fireplaces.

The 4-acre garden is another quiet place to
rest and spend a lazy afternoon.

Camille, your hostess, is often found
tending to the garden where she harvests fresh
fruits, vegetables and herbs.