The Roper Hotel

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about The Roper Hotel in Burnet County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. George C. and Elizabeth Roper, sometime around 1888, raised up a double-galleried hotel building in a town that was still finding its footing.

Marble Falls was growing, and the Ropers seemed to know it. That hotel, their hotel, became a popular stop for visiting businessmen and dignitaries. A double-galleried building in a growing Texas town, full of people who had places to be and deals to make.

You can almost hear the boots on the stairs. Now, the Ropers had their run, but by 1926 the place changed hands. W.

F. Smith purchased it, and under his family's watch the old Roper took on new names, new lives. It went by The Central Hotel for a spell, and then The Francis House.

Names change, but a building with good bones keeps standing. And then there's R. O.

Smith, W. F.'s son, who stepped in as manager in the 1930s. That's not where his story ends, though.

That same man who ran the hotel later served as mayor of Marble Falls. The hotel stayed in the Smith family all the way until 1963. From the Ropers to the Smiths, from dignitaries to mayors, one building in Marble Falls held a whole lot of Texas history in its double-galleried frame.

What the marker says

George C. and Elizabeth Roper constructed this double-galleried hotel building about 1888. In the growing town of Marble falls, The Roper Hotel became a popular stop for visiting businessmen and dignitaries. It was purchased by W. F. Smith in 1926 and later operated as The Central Hotel and The Francis House. His son R. O. Smith, who became manager in the 1930s, later served as mayor of Marble falls. The hotel remained in the Smith family until 1963. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1981