J. M. Koch's Hotel

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about J. M. Koch's Hotel in Medina County.

Now, every good building has a story, and this one has several layered right on top of each other, like floors in a two-story porch. Let's take it from the beginning. J.

M. and Mary Ann Koch started running a hotel in D'Hanis back in 1898. They knew what they were doing, those two. Then in July of 1902, they purchased the land right on this very site, and by 1906 they had a proper building to show for it.

A real hotel, built to last. And here's where the story gets interesting: that hotel was reportedly constructed by Chinese railroad laborers. Think about that for a moment.

The bricks themselves came from the D'Hanis brick plant, early bricks, local material, shaped into something that would outlast the century. The building went up with symmetrical lines, a three-bay façade, a central door, paired round-arch windows, corbelled brickwork on the parapet, and a two-story porch that tells you whoever designed this place had an eye for things done right. Late Victorian details on a building meant for working travelers in a small Texas town.

Simple, the marker calls it, but elegant too. Both things at once. The Koch family ran the place until December of 1914, when they sold the building.

It kept on as a hotel for a few more years, carrying the name and the purpose forward until 1920. That same year, the Farmers Exchange of D'Hanis stepped in and bought it, converting the old hotel into a feed store. They even added a cotton scale to the east side of the structure, practical as the day is long.

Somewhere down the line, another owner came along and ran it as a boarding house, so the building never really stopped sheltering people, it just kept changing its terms. From hotel to feed store to boarding house, the bricks from that D'Hanis plant held through every reinvention. Some buildings earn their keep once.

This one earned it over and over again.

What the marker says

J. M. and Mary Ann Koch owned and operated a hotel in D'Hanis beginning in 1898. They purchased the land on this site in July 1902, and built this hotel in 1906. Reportedly constructed by Chinese railroad laborers, it is built of early bricks from the D'Hanis brick plant. In December 1914 the Koch family sold the building, which continued as a hotel until 1920. The Farmers Exchange of D'Hanis purchased it that year for use as a feed store, adding a cotton scale to the east side of the structure. A later owner operated it as a boarding house. A simple but elegant early 20th century hotel with Late Victorian details, the edifice's notable architectural features include its symmetrical plan, three-bay façade with central door, paired round-arch windows, 2-story porch and corbelled brickwork on the parapet. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000