Meeker Hotel

Description

The hotel was built in 1896, at a time when Meeker was a prominent stagecoach stop and visitors were drawn to the beauty of the White River Valley. At this time there were many hotels in Meeker, but none compared with the brick structure built by Rueben Sanford Ball. An east and west wing were added to the hotel in 1904, greatly expanding its square footage and boosting the number of rooms to forty. A series of pictures by H.A. Wildhack depict the building of the hotel. Between June 9, 1896 and July 15, 1896, a large pile of bricks is transformed into the shell of the building that still stands 115 years later. Materials were being shipped by freight wagon from Rifle. The story is that Ball, after losing an establishment in Creede, Colorado to a fire, went to great lengths to build a hotel that would pass the test of time. The hotel’s walls range from three to six bricks thick.

The Meeker Hotel is the only historic hotel still standing in the northwest corner of Colorado. Its unique brick façade adds a picturesque quality as does its rounded glass bays on each side of the main building. The front of the building has a wide balcony overlooking Main Street, the native flagstone courthouse built in 1935, and one of the original barracks used during the time of the Meeker Massacre (now the White River Museum).

“Even if you are just passing though, stop off at this old hotel and take a look around the restored lobby. Once inside, your every move is watched by the beady glass eyes of elk, buffalo, long-horned sheep, deer, [coyotes, foxes, and porcupines] mounted on the walls.”. Within the hotel, guests are greeted with original rustic pine floors and a multitude of fine world-class deer and elk mounts. Most of the Meeker Hotel’s elk have joined the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's national World Record Elk Tour and many guests make the pilgrimage just to see them. “I found a picture of the Meeker Hotel Lobby taken back in 1906…The large bull elk is a big typical 427 3/8. In the hotel there is another great elk that had fallen off the wall over the years and has two large bolts through the antlers holding them onto the old mount. Unfortunately this is another great record elk that cannot officially go into record book because of its cracked skull. It is a 9x8 typical with a gross score of B&C 460 netting about 450. Just think about that the little town of Meeker with two world record Elk greater than records of today, dating from the turn of the century. I will be displaying them both in the 1999 World Record Elk Tour.”. Alongside these giants are a collection of different animals from the area slowly collected by a succession of owners. A mountain lion, coyotes, regional foxes, antelope, a bear skin and even porcupines are stuffed and on display. The first owner and current owner have also contributed two moose and a caribou from Alaska. Sitting beside the stairway is an enormous elk that has been observing the lobby since 1904. It is the set of antlers that is now displayed proudly on the hotel’s stationery, bumper stickers and T-shirts. All animals depicted in their merchandise come from their collection.

The stairway is over six feet wide with a handmade railing that resembles a tree trunk and limbs. At the top of the stairs are twelve rooms and a guest lounge. Over the years, the original rooms have combined to create six two room suites and six single rooms, each with their own bath. Many of the baths still contain the original claw foot bathtubs. The rooms are named for something that has been a part of the hotel’s western history or a guest who has stayed there: Susan C. Wright, Gary Cooper, Billy the Kid, Nathan Meeker, Tom Horn, Big Bull Elk, Eleanor Roosevelt, Chief Ouray, Painted Lady, R.S. Ball, Theodore Roosevelt, Augusta Wallihan, and Charlie Dunbar.

Meeker Hotel History

As more settlers arrived in the White River Valley during the year 1883, the military encampment slowly transformed into a permanent town. One such settler was a plucky, good-natured, strong-willed woman who had made the trip from South Carolina on her own. Her name was Susan C. Wright. She immediately saw the opportunity available in the sale of the old army barracks and made the decision to acquire one. While she worked to open a hotel, she accepted a position on the newly formed Town Company Association. Susan was the only woman who joined the Town Company and with her common sense approach she organized community harvests and grain saving programs that insured that everyone in town had enough food to get through the winter. One year, when there was a little extra, she was famous for making cornmeal and Johnny Cakes for each family. She would soon be known affectionately as the “Mother of Meeker”. The large rock in front of the present-day Rio Blanco Courthouse has a plaque commemorating the first members of the Town Company. Both of the Meeker Hotel’s founders, Susan Wright and Charlie Dunbar, are engraved on it. Other names include John C. Davis, William H. Clark, Newton Major and J.W. Hugus (the banking future millionaire who still has a building named after him in Meeker- the one sitting beside the Meeker Hotel). The town was incorporated in 1885 and became the county seat of Rio Blanco County. For the next twenty years, Meeker remained the only incorporated town in Northwestern Colorado.

Susan Wright opened the Meeker Hotel to the public in the fall of 1883. Initially it was the first hotel within a hundred-mile radius, but quickly more hotels began to spring up, including the Antler Hotel and the Ranch Hotel. The Meeker Hotel became famous for its western hospitality as Susan Wright was known to never turn down a traveler. Her hotel, the café and saloon she ran inside were a welcome respite for many weary travelers. Stories still remain of Sarah Wright’s fun-loving side and the long conversations she would indulge in, oftentimes while enjoying a nice cigar! The hotel was opened as partnership between Susan C. Wright and Charlie Dunbar. It seemed a good fit as Susan could focus on the accommodations and food while Charlie could run the saloon. Unfortunately, this didn’t last long. Susan lost her partner, shortly after the hotel opened. Charlie, a keen gambler, became embroiled in a card game argument, leading to gunshots and his death. The next year, Susan had replaced him with a new partner, Simp Harp, the owner of the successful stagecoach line traveling throughout western Colorado. With the amount of stagecoach travel and expansion west, the Meeker Hotel prospered. The July 3, 1886 issue of the Meeker Herald reports “The French glass recently arrived from Denver, and has been placed behind the bar and adds greatly to the appearance of the saloon.”

Sadly, in 1892, Susan Wright became ill and after a year died. She willed her personal property and real estate to her brother, Rueben S. Ball, who had moved from Creede, Colorado to help his sister run her beloved hotel while she was ill. In 1896, R.S. Ball set out on an ambitious plan to expand the hotel. The humble barrack was replaced with an impressive, two-story structure with a double-brick fire wall that Ball requested. Ball had lost a successful saloon in Creede to a devastating fire and wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

He hired local builder I.G. Mitchell to help make his dream come true. He designed five large arched windows and instructed the masonry crew in a distinctive design still unique in the 21st century. Above all of it was an engraved flagstone with the name Meeker Hotel and below it in smaller print, R.S. Ball. Throughout the next thirty years, Ball carefully labeled most pieces of Meeker Hotel furniture with these same initials. There are many people in the area who still have antique furniture with R.S. Ball carved neatly into them. In 1904, only eight years his last improvements, Ball felt compelled to expand again. I.G. Mitchell was once again used to add an east and west wing and attention was paid to continuing the same style. Arched windows and corbeled cornices added nice flair to what had become a large brick structure, constituting 200,000 bricks, all shipped by freight wagon from Rifle, Colorado.

Among many other things, R.S. Ball left the hotel with a legacy that would carry throughout the next 125 years. His love of hunting and adventure (he traveled to Cuba and Alaska once he had his hotel on solid ground) can still be seen today. Ball created an extraordinary hunting trophy collection that unbeknownst to him has inspired later owners. The names hanging below many of the mounts are Ball, Dunbar, Dunn and Ritchie (all past or current owners). Others are of friends and relatives who over the years have contributed to the Meeker Hotel’s rich heritage. A legacy and tribute to the hotel’s White River history, the collection is exhibited in the hotel lobby and throughout the hotel.

In the spring of 1923, the Ball family sold the Meeker Hotel to Mr. and Mrs. Clarence P. Mathis. In 1935, the hotel was purchased by Paul and Goldie Dunn. The Dunn’s were responsible for making extensive improvements, the most important of which was adding bathrooms as well as steam heat. The Dunn’s operated the hotel for nearly thirty years. During the late sixties and seventies, the hotel’s ownership shifted a number of times. It was owned by a Louisiana oil man as well as a hopeful miner, but in 1979 it was purchased by Dave Stewart. In the next seventeen years, Stewart continued the long process of slowly upgrading and renovating the building. Often it was a labor of love for an old building that had survived a couple of decades of rough treatment. In 1996, he sold the Meeker Hotel to James Ritchie. Since that time, James and Kimberly Ritchie have continued to slowly renovate the building. In 1996, the lobby was entirely renovated. The quarter-sawn oak was stripped of dark brown paint, the lobby was made into one room instead of two, the staircase was redone, the tin ceiling was exposed, and the floors refinished. The large wood stove and the etched glass wildlife scene were added. In 2002, the Café underwent an extensive four-month renovation, uncovering the hardwood floor, the brick walls and the tin ceiling. James Ritchie crafted the lodge pole pine booths and live oak and maple tables. In 2011, upgrades were made to the rooms, including period porcelain tile and pedestal sinks in the baths as well as upgrades to the hundred foot long-eight foot wide main hallway.

Meeker Café History

The stone building, which currently houses the Meeker Café, was originally called the Vorges Bldg. It opened for business on May 9, 1891 as Meeker’s new Post Office building. In 1904, it became the 1st National Bank Building and in 1918, Rueben S. Ball moved the café out of the hotel to its present location. Phil Jensen, longtime resident of Meeker, related a story of how back in the early 1930s he sat in the café’s antique booths when they were located in the Midwest Café in Craig. Sometime in the mid 30’s the art deco style booths, counter top and bar back were moved to the Meeker Café.

Famous Guests

“The illustrious guest list includes Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt, Gary Cooper, Billy the Kid and more recently Vice President Dick Cheney.”

Billy the Kid

July 6, 1889 Here is some background and how the Meeker Hotel came to be a part of the mystery.

Billy the Kid was one of the most famous outlaws in the history of the Old West. However, most of his years remain mysterious. He has been described as both a cold-blooded killer and as a romantic Robin Hood. He was extremely loyal to his many friends, and extremely dangerous to anyone he considered an enemy. He will forever be remembered as an immortal figure of a lawless era.

Billy the Kid was born William Henry McCarty around the year 1860. His birthplace is uncertain, but during his childhood he lived in Indiana, Kansas and Colorado before his family settled in Silver City, New Mexico. After the death of his mother, Catherine, Billy the Kid was left parentless and turned to a life of crime as early as age thirteen. He became involved in New Mexico’s infamous Lincoln County War where he was accused of killing Sheriff Brady. He was arrested in 1880 for that murder, but escaped jail. Billy the Kid was than hunted down by Pat Garrett and is believed by many to have been shot on July 14, 1881. To confuse matters, numerous Billy the Kid sightings were made in New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado after this date- leading many to question the validity of The Kid’s death. Claims were made that he lived under his many aliases (Billy McCarty, William H. Bonney) and mischievously flaunted his identity. Always a few steps ahead of the law!. The plot thickens in 1950, when ninety-year-old Brushy Bill Roberts (pictured on right side) claims to be Billy the Kid and seeks a pardon from the Governor of New Mexico. Brushy Bill’s attorney had requested a private meeting due to his client’s poor health, but the governor ignored the request and invited dozens of guests including photographers and reporters. Brushy Bill suffered a stroke during the interview and answered many questions incorrectly. Unfortunately, before the matter could be further explored Brushy Bill Roberts died of a second Heart Attack only a few weeks later. Leaving the matter unresolved.

Billy the Kid historians are split down the middle on whether Brushy Bill Roberts was the real thing, but nonetheless The Meeker Hotel is left with the faded signature of William H. Bonney lingering in the dusty hotel registry from the summer of 1889.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt stayed at the Meeker Hotel in the winter of 1901. He was inspired to write a book about the area. The Meeker Herald of January 12, 1901 reported: "Gates Keenesburg left Tuesday afternoon for Rifle with a swell tallyho and fours handled by the prince of jehus Ed Wolcott, for the purpose of meeting a select party of gentlemen who had previously made arrangements to enjoy a few weeks’ vacation in this out-of-the-way place. It was nearly eight o’clock last evening when the rig returned to Meeker, and among its occupants were none less than Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, of Oyster Bay, N.Y. They were at once taken to St. James rectory, where the Rev. H.A. Handel had an elegant spread awaiting them. In deference to the vice-president-elect’s wishes it was pre-arranged that there would be no public demonstration, but there was a general desire to meet and shake hands with the distinguished gentleman. However, it was near midnight before the party proceeded to the Meeker Hotel, where rooms were reserved for them, and but few had the pleasure of an introduction. That the famous “rough rider” will find plenty of sport in the next three weeks goes without saying.” “[Theodore Roosevelt] killed his cougar near Meeker, Co in 1901. It measured 15 12/16 inches (skull measurement). President Roosevelt was given outright claim to the record for about 53 years.”. With the assassination of President McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, 42, became the youngest President in the Nation's history. He brought new excitement and power to the Presidency, as he vigorously led Congress and the American public toward progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy.

He crusaded endlessly on matters big and small, exciting audiences with his high-pitched voice, jutting jaw, and pounding fist. "The life of strenuous endeavor" was a must for those around him, Leaving the Presidency in 1909, Roosevelt went on an African safari, then jumped back into politics. In 1912, while campaigning he was shot in the chest by a fanatic. Roosevelt soon recovered, but his words at that time would have been applicable at the time of his death in 1919: "No man has had a happier life than I have led; a happier life in every way."

Eleanor Roosevelt and Gary Cooper have also stayed at the hotel.

Ghosts

The Meeker Hotel claims a couple, seldom seen ghosts. One is called Charlie Dunbar (an original owner in 1883) who was shot in a gunfight reportedly on the premises of the hotel when it was still an old barrack. They say the fire, in the big wood-burning stove, is sometimes stoked in the morning, and female guests report feeling a gentleman taking their elbow to help them down the long stairs. Another is referred to as the Painted Lady because guests are sometimes awakened by a strong smell of perfume in the middle of the night and the door of a certain room oftentimes ‘sticks’ and cannot be opened.

Historic site

The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.