Ott Hotel

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Ott Hotel in Liberty County. Now settle in, because this one starts with oil in the ground and ends with a building that outlasted just about everything around it. The early twentieth century in this part of Texas was all about trade, timber, and agriculture — steady work, honest living, nothing too flashy.

Then somebody struck big oil. The Batson field, fifteen miles to the northeast. South Liberty, four miles to the south.

And just like that, the whole region shook loose. Liberty, sitting right there as the nearest rail connection, became the place everyone passed through, and new buildings started going up like the town was trying to keep up with itself — restaurants, general stores, and yes, a railroad hotel. Louisiana native John Joshua Ott, born in 1867, and his wife Sallie Wiggins Ott of San Jacinto County, born in 1874, looked at all that activity and did what any sharp-eyed couple would do.

They hired contractor Elza Burch and told him to build something worthy of the moment. Burch delivered. The Ott Hotel was completed in late 1928, right there adjacent to the Texas and New Orleans Railroad tracks, near enough to the depot that you could practically hear the trains from your pillow.

And that was the whole idea. It was what they called a drummer hotel — named for the traveling salesmen of the day, those road-worn men with sample cases and stories to tell, rolling from town to town on the rails. But drummers weren't the only ones filling those fifty rooms.

The hotel sat right along the Old Spanish Trail, which later became State Highway 3 and U.S. Highway 90, so automobile tourists could pull in just as easy as train passengers could step off the platform. Folks with business at the nearby county courthouse had no reason to sleep anywhere else.

Fifty rooms, L-shaped, two stories of brick, with community baths running down the middle of the long hall. Paired windows, a prominent four-bay front porch, tapered wood columns, a low-pitch roof, brick detailing, and Craftsman-style exposed rafter tails running the length of the porch and the whole building. And if you arrived by rail and somehow missed all of that, there was a sign painted right on the brick along the railroad side — just in case your eyes were still adjusting from the ride.

Over the years the dining room and parlor were converted into more rooms, squeezing every bit of use out of that L-shaped footprint. Several managers came and went, but the hotel stayed in Ott family hands all the way until 2002. John Joshua Ott died in 1939.

Sallie Wiggins Ott lived on until 1963. And that brick building they commissioned from Elza Burch in the boom days of Liberty? It's still standing right there by the tracks — which, when you think about it, is about the most Texas ending a hotel could ask for.

What the marker says

Built to capitalize on oil boom prosperity, the Ott Hotel became a Liberty landmark. The regional economy in the early 20th century focused on trade, timber and agriculture. The discovery of large oil fields, including Batson (15 mi. NE) and South Liberty (4 mi. S), brought great activity to Liberty as the nearest rail connection, and many new buildings went up, including restaurants, general stores and this railroad hotel. Louisiana native John Joshua Ott (1867-1939) and his wife Sallie Wiggins Ott (1874-1963) of San Jacinto County hired contractor Elza Burch to build the hotel. Completed in late 1928 adjacent to the Texas & New Orleans Railroad tracks and very near the depot, the Ott Hotel was well positioned to serve train passengers and was known as a drummer hotel, named for the traveling salesmen of the day. Its location was also ideally suited for automobile tourists on the Old Spanish Trail (later State Highway 3 and U.S. Highway 90), as well as those with business in the nearby county courthouse. The hotel's original design included 50 rooms in an L-shaped building footprint, with community baths in the middle of the long hall. Dining room and parlor space was later converted into additional rooms. A sign painted on the bricks on the side along the railroad attracted new arrivals. This two-story brick building features paired windows and has a prominent four-bay front porch with tapered wood columns, a low-pitch roof and brick detailing. Craftsman-style exposed rafter trails outline the porch and the entire building. Several managers operated the hotel, and the property remained in the Ott family until 2002. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2005