DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Dixie Hotel in Van Zandt County. September 2, 1915. The Canton Herald runs the announcement — a new hotel is coming.
Its site along the Dixie Highway gave the hotel its name and a prime location to draw in travelers and folks looking for a place to put down roots a while. Square floor plan, two full floors, wraparound gallery porches, dormer windows, and a half-floor tucked up in the attic. Sheriff John Kellis — the owner and the contractor both — built the thing.
Then on October 18, 1916, he sold it for two thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars to Mrs. A. R.
Maume and her daughter, Mamie. Mamie stepped right into the role of hotel manager, and brother, she would hold that post for the rest of her life. In 1919, Mamie oversaw construction of a two-story annex.
The Dixie was growing, and word was spreading. The hotel became known regionally — regionally, mind you — for its lodging and its meals. And that's where the story gets fragrant.
The kitchen was the heart of it. Maggie Bowles cooked there, and later Aarona Maxie and her sister Nannie Hambrick took up the pots and pans. Renowned cooks, the marker calls them, and the prices tell you something too — eighty-five cents on weekdays, a dollar on Sundays, and you could eat all you wanted.
All. You. Wanted.
Word got around. Dallas and Fort Worth newspapers wrote about the place. Motorists came to Canton just to sit down at one of those tables.
Now the Dixie had two dining rooms — one public, one private. The private room served a practical purpose too: juries used it during long trials. So justice and supper shared the same building, which feels about right for Texas.
The guest list over the years reads like something you'd make up if you were trying to impress somebody. Politicians came through. Businessmen.
Will Rogers. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. And U.S.
Senator Lyndon B. Johnson — he arrived by helicopter just to sample some of Aarona's good cooking. A helicopter landing in Canton, Texas, for a plate of food.
The woman's reputation preceded her. Then came the Van oil field in the nineteen-twenties and thirties, drawing hundreds of men and women into the area. The Dixie was always full.
Always. Cots were placed out on the porches to handle the overflow. Pure Oil Company contracted with Miss Mamie for a separate office space and living quarters behind the hotel.
The place was humming. Back in Canton, residents gathered at the Dixie for Sunday singing, organization meetings, Aggie Muster. The hotel wasn't just a place to sleep — it was a fixture of community life.
Miss Mamie operated that hotel all the way through, through the oil booms and the celebrities and the juries and the helicopter landings, until May 5, 1954. That was the day she died. The Dixie closed for good that night.
What the marker says
On September 2, 1915, the Canton Herald announced plans for a new hotel. Its site along the Dixie Highway gave the hotel its name and a prime location to attract travelers and residents. The hotel's square floor plan included two full floors with wraparound gallery porches, and dormer windows and a half-floor in the attic. Sheriff John Kellis, the owner and contractor, sold the hotel for $2,750 to Mrs. A. R. Maume and her daughter, Mamie, on October 18, 1916. Mamie became the hotel manager. In 1919, she oversaw construction of a two-story annex. The Dixie Hotel became known regionally for its lodging and meals. Maggie Bowles, and later Aarona Maxie and her sister, Nannie Hambrick, were the renowned cooks. For 85 cents on weekdays, or a dollar on Sundays, a customer could eat all he wanted. U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson arrived by helicopter to sample some of Aarona's good cooking. The Dixie had two dining rooms, one public and one private. The private room was used by juries during long trials. The hotel was also visited by politicians, businessmen, and such celebrities as Will Rogers, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker. When the Van oil field drew hundreds of men and women in the 1920s and 1930s, the Dixie was always full, and cots were even placed on the porches to accommodate all the people. Pure Oil Company contracted with Miss Mamie for a separate office space and living quarters behind the hotel. Dallas and Fort Worth newspaper articles about the hotel brought motorists to Canton, while residents enjoyed Sunday singing, organization meetings, and Aggie Muster at the Dixie. Miss Mamie operated the hotel until May 5, 1954, the day she died. The Dixie closed for good that night.