Newlyweds Lot and Hilda Borden arrived in Whitehall early in 1900 and over the next seventy years their business contributed to the local economy. Lot first ran a saloon and Hilda a cafe. In 1913 the Bordens built the east portion of the present building as a billiard hall, saloon, and second-floor dance hall, and its canted corner recalled the days when Whitehall, on the old highway and the Northern Pacific Railroad, was a hub for tourists. Railroad workers, who remained loyal patrons for the next fifty years, persuaded the Bordens to convert the dance hall into hotel rooms in 1916. In 1919 they expanded again, adding a one-story lobby and restaurant to the west. During Prohibition, the saloon became a commercial storefront housing the Golden Rule, the telephone exchange, and other enterprises. After Lot's death in 1922, Hilda ran both the hotel and restaurant. In 1929 she commissioned Bozeman architect Fred Willson to design the attached Craftsman style residence. After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Hilda obtained the town's first beer license and the Modern Hotel became the Borden Hotel. Business remained brisk enough that in 1941 Fred Willson designed a second-story addition with nine hotel rooms, and its stepped parapet architecturally joined the older and newer sections. Although tourism declined after Interstate 90 was built in 1961, Hilda continued in business until her death at age 91 in 1971. The Whitehall community remembered her for financing the education of many local youngsters, and the Borden Hotel still anchors Legion Avenue.