The Beaumont Hotel was built in 1879 by Edwin Russell and passed through a series of owners including the Durham Cattle Company, Reed Church, Charles Church, Mr. Westerfall, Nell Rauch, Mr. Coonrod, J.C. Squier, John Savute, Betty Ludwig, and Eleanor Ferrell Crank. As Beaumont had about 1500 residents in 1910, the hotel remained a prominent part of the town, and under Squier it gained an air strip, running water, heat, and decks overlooking the Flint Hills. Crank later carried out restoration work including a new roof and interior improvements before Stephen Craig bought the hotel in 2001 and began an extensive restoration aimed at preserving it for future generations. Much of the hotel was restored to resemble the 1950s, safety and security improvements were added, and it was expanded to include 3 suites and 8 hotel rooms with private bathrooms. Since that restoration, the hotel has drawn pilots from many countries and six continents, with as many as 70 aircraft arriving in a day, and it is notable as one of the few places where a pilot can taxi a plane through downtown and park beside the front door in a space reserved for airplanes. The hotel also became a destination for motorcycle enthusiasts, while Beaumont itself is presented as a historic Kansas town with roots as a stage coach station serving travelers from Fredonia to Wichita and with a history tied to cowboys, railroads, aviation, and the Flint Hills.