Magnolia Hotel (Seguin, Texas)

Last updated
Magnolia Hotel
Magnolia Hotel Seguin Texas 2016.jpg
Magnolia Hotel (Seguin, Texas)
General information
StatusRestoration
TypeHotel
Location Seguin, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates 29°34′05″N97°57′46″W / 29.5680°N 97.9627°W / 29.5680; -97.9627
Opening1847 (1847)
Technical details
Floor count2
Lifts/elevators0

The Magnolia Hotel is a historic structure located in Seguin, Texas. It was originally built 1840 by James Campbell, as a two room log cabin. [1] It was in operation as a hotel as early as 1844. The building had been in poor repair for a number of years and was added to a list of the most endangered historic places in Texas in 2012. [2] In 2013, the structure came under new ownership of Erin Ghedi and Jim and was being restored for use as a private residence. [3]

As of 2019, The Magnolia Hotel is a fully functioning hotel that can be rented out nightly. Tours are also given. It is touted as one of the most haunted hotels in Texas, and many ghost-hunting television shows have been hosted there. [4]

History

During the Republic of Texas, a two-room log cabin in Seguin, Texas, and was built by James Campbell in 1840. [5] sheltered travelers on the frontier as early as 1844, and became known as the Magnolia Hotel. An adjoining concrete building was erected by early 1846, and a larger, two-story frame building replaced the log cabin by 1853.

The Magnolia Hotel was included in the Historic American Buildings Survey (H.A.B.S.) in 1934, and contributes to the Seguin Commercial Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

The Magnolia's limecrete section was built by John Park, a chemist and doctor who experimented with concrete after moving to Seguin in 1846. The hotel was the first 'Park's concrete' building in town, and is surely the oldest still standing. [6] Park's work, with his imitators and rivals, led to Seguin having the largest concentration of mid-19th century concrete structures in the United States. [7]

The dating of the concrete hotel is established because Captain Jack Hays, "perhaps the most famous Texas Ranger" according to Willie Mae Weinert's Authentic History of Guadalupe County, married Susan Calvert, daughter of Jeremiah Strother Calvert, the hotel's owner, "in the south room of the concrete portion of the hotel on April 29, 1847, Rev. John M. McCulloch presiding." [8]

Park's concrete building was next to a two-room cabin built of logs originally gathered by Seguin citizens to build a stockade as defense against possible Indian raids. The logs were instead sold to Texas Ranger James Campbell, and his cabin became the point of defense. The two-story frame building that now sits atop the large basement, replacing the Campbell cabin, dates from the early 1850s. It shows graceful Greek Revival symmetry and detailing around the door, and a roof line similar to that of the concrete house known as Sebastopol built 1854–56.

Frederick Law Olmsted passed through Seguin in February 1854, and wrote about the town's many concrete buildings, noting, "The hotel is large and good." [9] That he made no mention of the hotel itself being of concrete implies that he was referring to the much larger wooden building, dating it to about 1853.

Jeremiah Calvert sold the property to Dr. William Read, a dentist who operated the hotel from 1850 to 1860, then Colonel Thomas Dickey Johnson and Katherine Calvert Johnston owned it until 1900. Together they encompassed the years when the Magnolia served as an overnight stop for stagecoaches making their runs from the coastal ports to San Antonio and points west. A young slave rang a bell to announce the stage's arrival, to summon guests at mealtime, and in emergencies. The stone the youngster stood on remains in place. The bell actually came from the Alamo, having been found in the San Antonio River in 1845 then brought to the hotel by John Twohig, and was used at the Magnolia until about 1900. A Seguin woman purchased the bell and donated it to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, then the managers of the Alamo shrine. [10]

During the stagecoach years, from 1848 to about 1880, the Magnolia served as the stagecoach stop in Seguin. As such, the hotel served as a center of social life in the town, serving food, drink and hosting dances in the ballroom. Rival hotels, constructed of brick and boasting of "fire-proof" construction, opened in the last decade of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century displaced the Magnolia as the premier lodging in town.

In the 1930s, the property was bought by the Lannom couple, who lived downstairs and operated with small apartments upstairs for another 65 years or so. The building fell into disrepair, leading Preservation Texas to list it among the state's "Most Endangered Historic Places" in March 2012. [11] On March 1, 2013, Jim Ghedi and Erin O Wallace-Ghedi purchased the building and have privately funded the restoration bringing it back to its original state. It now has become a private museum and personal residence to the Ghedis. Though much of the building remains a work in progress, the bottom floor has been fully renovated. [12]

The building was visited by the Ghost Adventures and Ghost Brothers TV shows as well as the YouTube channel Watcher. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motel</span> Hotel catering to motorists

A motel, also known as a motor hotel, motor inn or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a portmanteau of "motor hotel", originates from the defunct motel named Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo, California, which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seguin, Texas</span> City in Texas, United States

Seguin is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, Texas, United States. The population was 29,433 at the 2020 census, and according to 2023 census estimates, the city is estimated to have a population of 36,013. Its economy is primarily supported by a regional hospital, as well as the Schertz-Seguin Local Government Corporation water-utility, that supplies the surrounding Greater San Antonio areas from nearby aquifers as far as Gonzales County. Several dams in the surrounding area are governed by the main offices of the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority, headquartered in downtown Seguin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamo Mission</span> Fort in San Antonio, Texas, US

The Alamo is a historic Spanish mission and fortress compound founded in the 18th century by Roman Catholic missionaries in what is now San Antonio, Texas, United States. It was the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, a pivotal event of the Texas Revolution in which American folk heroes James Bowie and Davy Crockett were killed. Today it is a museum in the Alamo Plaza Historic District and a part of the San Antonio Missions World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolphus Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Adolphus Hotel is a historic upscale hotel established in 1912 in the Main Street District of Downtown Dallas, Texas. A Dallas Landmark, it was for several years the tallest building in the state. Today, the hotel is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juan Seguín</span> Spanish-Tejano politician and military leader

Juan Nepomuceno Seguín was a Spanish-Tejano political and military figure of the Texas Revolution who helped to establish the independence of Texas. Numerous places and institutions are named in his honor, including the county seat of Seguin in Guadalupe County, the Juan N. Seguin Memorial Interchange in Houston, Juan Seguin Monument in Seguin, World War II Liberty Ship SS Juan N. Seguin, Seguin High School in Arlington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sixth Street (Austin, Texas)</span> United States historic place

Sixth Street is a historic street and entertainment district in Austin, Texas, located within the city's urban core in downtown Austin. Sixth Street was formerly named Pecan Street under Austin's older naming convention, which had east–west streets named after trees and north–south streets named after Texas rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">José Antonio Navarro</span> American politician

José Antonio Navarro was a Texas statesman, revolutionary, rancher, and merchant. The son of Ángel Navarro and Josefa María Ruiz y Peña, he was born into a distinguished noble family at San Antonio de Béxar in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. His uncle was José Francisco Ruiz and his brother-in-law was Juan Martín de Veramendi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio River Walk</span> City park and pedestrian street in Texas, United States

The San Antonio River Walk is a city park and special-case pedestrian street in San Antonio, Texas, one level down from the automobile street. The River Walk winds and loops under bridges as two parallel sidewalks lined with restaurants and shops, connecting the major tourist draws such as the Shops at Rivercenter, the Arneson River Theatre, Marriage Island, La Villita, HemisFair Park, the Tower Life Building, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Pearl, and the city's five Spanish colonial missions, which have been named a World Heritage Site, which includes the Alamo. During the annual springtime Fiesta San Antonio, the River Parade features flowery floats that float down the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menger Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Menger Hotel is a historic hotel located in downtown San Antonio, Texas, US, on the site of the Battle of the Alamo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Driskill Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Driskill, a Romanesque-style building completed in 1886, is the oldest operating hotel in Austin, Texas, United States, and one of the best-known hotels in Texas generally. The Driskill was conceived and built by Col. Jesse Driskill, a cattleman who spent his fortune constructing "the finest hotel south of St. Louis".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service rustic</span> Style of architecture developed in 20th century for the United States National Park Service

National Park Service rustic – sometimes colloquially called Parkitecture – is a style of architecture that developed in the early and middle 20th century in the United States National Park Service (NPS) through its efforts to create buildings that harmonized with the natural environment. Since its founding in 1916, the NPS sought to design and build visitor facilities without visually interrupting the natural or historic surroundings. The early results were characterized by intensive use of hand labor and a rejection of the regularity and symmetry of the industrial world, reflecting connections with the Arts and Crafts movement and American Picturesque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wort Hotel</span> United States historic place

The Wort Hotel was built in downtown Jackson, Wyoming, United States by brothers John and Jess Wort, who were significant figures in the transformation of the economy of Jackson Hole from ranching to tourism. The somewhat Tudor-style building was the first luxury hotel in Jackson. The two-story building features brick facing, with half-timbering and stucco on the second floor and a series of gables facing the street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site</span> State historic site of Texas, United States

Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site is a historic hotel in Anderson, Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department acquired the 6-acre (2.4 ha) site by purchase in 1977 from a Fanthorp descendant. Ten years were spent researching and restoring the Inn to its 1850 look. The site was opened to the public on October 4, 1987.

The Fort Laramie Three-Mile Hog Ranch was built to serve as a social center away from the soldiers' post at historic Fort Laramie, a 19th-century military post in eastern Wyoming. It became notorious as a place for gambling and drinking, and for prostitution, with at least ten prostitutes always in residence. The location is notable as an example of one of only a few military bordellos still standing in the United States by 1974, the time of its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. The Fort Laramie site was one of a number of so-called "hog ranches" that appeared along trails in Wyoming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mathew Caldwell</span> Texas settler

Matthew Caldwell,, also spelled Mathew Caldwell was a 19th-century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales – Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Because of his recruitment ride ahead of the Battle of Gonzales, some call him the Paul Revere of Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts</span>

The Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts brand was the first motel chain in the United States, founded by Edgar Lee Torrance in Waco, Texas, in 1929. By 1955, there were more than twenty Alamo Plazas across the southeastern U.S., most controlled by a loosely knit group of a half-dozen investors and operating using common branding or architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saffold Dam</span> United States historic place

Saffold Dam at the Flores Crossing is a dam and man-made waterfall in the city of Seguin, Texas. Named for William Saffold, a Civil War veteran, a major landowner and local merchant. The dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 15, 1979.

John Esten Park,, educated in chemistry and medicine, experimented with using concrete to construct buildings before the American Civil War. His work left the town of Seguin, Texas, with a large concentration of 19th-century concrete structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aue Stagecoach Inn</span> United States historic place

Aue Stagecoach Inn is a complex of three structures built by German immigrant Max Aue and is located on Boerne Stage Rd. and I-10, in Leon Springs, county of Bexar, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, and is an example of 19th century vernacular architecture of Texas.

References

  1. Jimenez, Roslyn (2021-10-30). "History Untold: The Haunted Magnolia Hotel". KSAT. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  2. Jimenez, Roslyn (2021-10-30). "History Untold: The Haunted Magnolia Hotel". KSAT. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  3. "About Us". Haunted Magnolia Hotel. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  4. "About Us". Haunted Magnolia Hotel. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  5. Jimenez, Roslyn (2021-10-30). "History Untold: The Haunted Magnolia Hotel". KSAT. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  6. Bicentennial Minutes, Seguin, Texas: Seguin Conservation Society, 1976
  7. Hauser, Vincent (May 1980), The Concrete Era of Seguin Texas, p 54 and p 60
  8. Weinert, Willie Mae (1976). ' 'An Authentic History of Guadalupe County' '. Seguin Conservation Society.
  9. Olmsted, Frederick Law (1978). ' 'A Journey Through Texas; Or, A Saddle-Trip On The Southwestern Frontier' '. University of Texas.
  10. "Old bell may have tolled at Alamo - San Antonio Express-News". Mysanantonio.com. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  11. "2012 Texas' Most Endangered Places". Preservation Texas. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
  12. "Historic Magnolia Hotel getting facelift", Seguin Gazette, November 24, 2013
  13. "Seguin's Magnolia Hotel joins state's most endangered historic places list". 25 March 2012.