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Hotel

By the 1890s, most small town hotels were similar to the one here. During the time of early settlement, the only accommodations for travelers was to share space in a settler's home. Later, some people built a separate room to rent to travelers. As the volume of travelers increased, an inn or hotel was built at a river crossing point, a crossroads location, or in a village to serve these people.

When a traveler rented a space in some early hotels, all that was provided was a space. The hotel was one large room with a bare floor where the patron placed his bedroll or pallet. One often awakened in the morning with a complete stranger in the adjoining space.

Other village hotels provided private rooms for the patrons. An outside stairway was used to reach the second floor. The rooms were small, with enough space for a bed, a wash stand, and sometimes a dresser. A chamber pot was sometimes there for the guest's personal needs, but the hotel privy was most often used. Although some small hotels had rooms for bathing, at this hotel the area for bathing was located out back in a separate building. There was an extra charge for using the bath house.

In some towns and cities, the hotels served a special clientele, such as salesmen. Women traveling alone or with servants usually rented a room in a private home.

Meals were served family style at a scheduled time in the dining room downstairs. The food was prepared in a separate kitchen located behind the hotel because the cook stove fire was a constant danger to the hotel.

Photo of Main Street showing the Saloon, Hotel, and other buildings.

The small room downstairs was usually the owner's office. Some hotels were operated by widows. Running a hotel or restaurant offered women a respectable living in 1890s Texas.

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Please send comments to Historic_Village@baylor.edu. Updated Aug. 23, 2001.