The town of Wheatland was established in 1858 by New York native John L. Bennett to take advantage of the Chicago & North Western Railway (C&NW) that was being built through southern Clinton County at the same time.

The Lincoln Highway passed through Wheatland to the north of the railroad tracks in 1915, and the City Hotel was not along its route.

After sitting empty for a few years, the Seifert family opened a tavern on the main floor in 1937, and lived in a part of the upstairs.

However, the main line of what is now the Union Pacific Railroad still passes to the south, but trains no longer stop in Wheatland.

Both gables feature geometric shapes in that suggest "wings" and radiate from a circular window encircled in yellow brick.