This building, the first to be constructed in Hawthorne, is the remnant of the narrow-gauge Carson & Colorado Railroad built south from Mound House in 1881. Railroad officials created the town from desert when the first lots were auctioned off on April 14, 1881. The line was subsequently extended into Owens Valley, California, and service to Hawthorne came to an end when the town was by-passed in 1905. In later years, the building served as a general store, a bar, and restaurant with a bingo parlor and a banquet hall until acquired by the Hawthorne Elks Lodge in 1946.

Historic Marker No. 237 BDivision of Historic Preservation and Archeology
Hawthorne Lodge No. 1704
Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks