Ginocchio Hotel and Restaurant
Marshall, Harrison County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Italian-born Charles Ginocchio arrived in Marshall in 1871. He owned several properties near the T&P Railroad depot, including the site of a notorious 1879 shooting that left Maurice Barrymore wounded and fellow actor Ben Porter dead. In 1893-96 Ginocchio commissioned this three-story brick building with first-floor stores, café, lobby, ballroom and dining room, and forty hotel rooms on the upper floors. The foundation is of ironstone, and the interior includes rare hand-carved curly pine detailing. In the late 1960s, the Camargo Corporation and the Max C. Gaines family restored the building and saved it from demolition. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1971
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Italian immigrant Charles Ginocchio arrived in Marshall in 1871 and built up holdings near the Texas & Pacific depot—including the ground where a notorious 1879 shooting left actor Maurice Barrymore wounded and Ben Porter dead. In 1893–96 he raised this three-story brick hotel with stores, a café, a ballroom, dining room, and forty guest rooms, finished with rare hand-carved curly pine. Threatened with demolition, it was rescued and restored in the late 1960s.
Why it matters
The Ginocchio stands as a grand relic of the railroad-depot hotel, when the arrival of the tracks made an immigrant entrepreneur's establishment the social hub of an East Texas town.
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Related people
- · Charles Ginocchio
- · Maurice Barrymore
- · Ben Porter
Themes & tags
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