The hotel opened August 8, 1890, as a replacement for a previous hotel that burned. It served as the headquarters for investigating general Nelson A. Miles while he investigated the Wounded Knee Massacre of December 29, 1890. Miles came to the Chadron Hotel immediately, arriving December 30, and within weeks identified "blind stupidity or criminal indifference" as contributing causes of the tragedy. It is unclear how long he stayed at the hotel.[2]