Clark Hotel
Van Horn, Culberson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
First permanent structure in Van Horn. Earliest portion (built 1901) housed original city post office. Main portion was built in 1905-06 by John Cox of concrete blocks handmade by crew on site. In 1911-12, when Culberson was newly organized, served as the county courthouse. Until 1918, when converted to hotel by Fred Clark, structure was site for theatrical programs and school graduations and housed a saloon, offices, and all kinds of shops. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The Clark Hotel was the first permanent structure in Van Horn, its earliest 1901 portion housing the original city post office and its main block built in 1905–06 from concrete blocks handmade on site. When Culberson County was newly organized in 1911–12, the building served as the county courthouse, and over the years it hosted theatrical programs, school graduations, a saloon, offices, and shops before Fred Clark converted it into a hotel in 1918. Few buildings did more jobs in a young West Texas town.
Why it matters
A single building that served as post office, courthouse, theater, and hotel shows how frontier towns pressed their earliest structures into every civic use at once.
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Related people
- · John Cox
- · Fred Clark
Themes & tags
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