Hotel Wiley

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Hotel Wiley, out in Garrison, Nacogdoches County. Now settle in, because this one's got good bones, literally and figuratively. The town of Garrison was founded in 1885, and towns that get founded tend to get thirsty, hungry, and tired real quick.

By about 1900, somebody had done something about at least one of those problems. The Hotel Wiley was in full operation, owned by a woman named Mrs. S.

A. Wiley, though folks knew her as Mattie. Now, when a hotel bears your name and you're running the dining room, you'd better be good at what you do.

And by all accounts, Mattie Wiley was. Railroad workers came through. Telephone workers came through.

Traveling salesmen, the kind who'd been jolting down rough roads with a case full of samples and a story for every town, they came through too. And the townspeople themselves, they weren't strangers to the place either. The draw, more often than not, was Mattie's family style meals.

The kind of cooking that makes a railroad man forget, just for a little while, how far from home he is. At its peak, the Hotel Wiley had about thirty-eight rooms, and that includes a two-story annex that was added on at some point. That annex was later removed.

Buildings breathe and change, especially ones that work for a living. What remains is still something worth pulling over for. The structure is a fine example of an early twentieth century railroad hotel.

Queen Anne style influences, they're right there in the hipped roof, in the decorative spindle work tucked into the lower cross gables, in those multilight dormer windows looking out over the world, and in the wraparound porch, which is, in this writer's humble opinion, the most honest piece of architecture ever invented. A place to sit. A place to watch the road.

A place where a weary traveler, sometime around the turn of the century, could arrive in Garrison, Texas, smell whatever Mattie had on the stove, and think, well. Maybe I'll stay another night.

What the marker says

The town of Garrison was founded in 1885. By about 1900 the Hotel Wiley, owned by Mrs. S. A. "Mattie" Wiley, was in full operation. The hotel was frequented by railroad and telephone workers, traveling salesmen and townspeople who enjoyed Mrs. Wiley's family style meals in the dining room. At one time the hotel had about 38 rooms including a two-story annex that later was removed. The structure is a fine example of an early 20th century railroad hotel, exhibiting Queen Anne style influences in its hipped roof, decorative spindle work in the lower cross gables, multilight dormer windows and wraparound porch. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1999