HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

The Gage Hotel

Marathon, Brewster County, Texas

Marker Inscription

The Gage Hotel This brick hotel building, designed by the El Paso firm of Trost and Trost, was constructed in 1926-27 for Vermont native Alfred S. Gage. A cattleman, Gage founded the largest ranching operation in the Trans-Pecos, consisting of over 600 sections of land. After moving to San Antonio, where he became a successful businessman and banker, the hotel served as his Marathon residence and as the headquarters for his local cattle and banking interests. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

The Gage Hotel was built in 1926–27 for Vermont-born cattleman Alfred S. Gage, whose Trans-Pecos ranching empire spanned more than 600 sections of West Texas land. Designed by the noted El Paso firm of Trost and Trost, the brick hotel served as Gage's Marathon residence and the headquarters for his local cattle and banking interests after he moved to San Antonio. It stands as a landmark of the great open-range ranching era that shaped the far West Texas frontier.

Why it matters

The hotel is a tangible reminder of the vast cattle operations that opened the arid Trans-Pecos country and of the cattlemen-bankers who built the modern West.

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Related people

  • · Alfred S. Gage

Themes & tags

Industry & InventionWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryLandmark

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