The Fort Worth Hotel
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Situated in the northwest corner of the public square, the Fort Worth Hotel was the stage coach terminal for travelers arriving at and leaving Fort Worth. The original structure remained on this site for over 70 years. Over its lifetime, the hotel had several additions and was known under different names. Early settler and "Father of Fort Worth" Ephraim M. Daggett bought two empty lots on the fort grounds in 1855 and erected a two-story building to serve as his home and a tavern for the public. In 1857, Lawrence G.A. Steel purchased the property and renamed the business the Fort Worth Hotel, commonly known as Steel's Tavern. It was expanded into the opposite lot and featured unique items including a 1782 bell mounted to the hotel used to announce arrivals, fires and social activities. In 1859, Albert T. Andrews purchased the property and operated the business until his death in 1867. In the 1870s, the hotel was renamed the Transcontinental Hotel, advertised as "The Best Hotel in Northern Texas." By 1879, the stage coach terminal moved to the El Paso Hotel, and the hotel operated as the Lindell Hotel. It was around this time that well-known gunfighter Luke Short boarded in one of the rooms. By the early 1890s, newer and larger hotels opened in Fort Worth and business began to decrease. The original buildings were demolished in 1892 and in 1925. The grand live oak trees are the only remaining remnant of the original site, a reminder of early Fort Worth history. (2017)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Fort Worth was little more than a frontier fort site, "Father of Fort Worth" Ephraim Daggett built a two-story tavern and home here in 1855. Under a succession of owners it became the Fort Worth Hotel and the town's stagecoach terminal, greeting travelers with a mounted bell that rang for arrivals, fires, and social events. Renamed the Transcontinental and later the Lindell, it even boarded gunfighter Luke Short before newer hotels eclipsed it and the buildings were razed.
Why it matters
The hotel's long life traces Fort Worth's growth from an isolated army post into a bustling stage and rail crossroads of the cattle-country frontier.
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Related people
- · Ephraim M. Daggett
- · Lawrence G.A. Steel
- · Luke Short
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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