FORT STOCKTON, Texas — For over 25 years, the Adobe brick Hotel was a staple here in Fort Stockton, providing shelter, fellowship and hot meals to travelers who needed it.
And it’s thanks to an iconic woman, Annie Riggs.
“She lived here from the very beginnings of Fort Stockton. She was married twice and divorced twice and after her second husband barney riggs she was working here at the hotel and realized she was going to need to support herself and her children, so she bought the hotel and made money,” said Ross Harper, Museum Director.
At the age of 46, Riggs bought the Koehler hotel in 1904 and changed it to the Riggs Hotel and as a single mom, her and her 10 children ran it themselves.
“The town kind of revolved around this hotel for many many years. This was the nicest hotel between San Antonio and El Paso so everyone who was traveling East or West wanted to stay here if they could afford it so yea it was the best hotel,” said Harper.
With the Courthouse next door, the hotel attracted mainly judges and lawyers.
“It was people traveling through but for the most part they were judges and lawyers because were right next to the courthouse so this was a very convenient place they were more well to do than a lot of the travelers coming through,” said Harper.
“It was 50 cents for half a room so there would be two beds in a room and if you wanted the whole room, you would pay a dollar which was pretty expensive,” he said.
Your stay at the Riggs Hotel was also always not complete without a good meal and some entertainment.
“This was the dining room. This was where she’d served all the meals for the hotel guests and for the people that came from Fort Stockton in town. She would entertain, she would play the piano, she served meals to anyone who wanted to come in and buy a meal for 35 cents. This was her kitchen where she prepared her food and where she passed away. They brought her bed in here so she could he warm by the stove and she ended up passing here in 1931,” said Harper.
Annie Riggs passed away at the age of 76 in a place she loved and even though she may no longer be here. Her legacy in Fort Stockton still remains.
Today, the hotel still stands tall but its purpose is now being served as a museum, run by the Fort Stockton Historical Society. Behind each blue door of what used to be hotel rooms is now personalized with various parts of rich Fort Stockton history.