I discovered the following article from the Polk County Enterprise, dated August of 1916, pertaining to the Oleander Hotel (formerly the Meece Hotel). By that time the hotel was approximately (36) years old. The Dunham Hotel was reportedly constructed in 1880 and T.F. Meece purchased the hotel on December 30th, 1887, when it became the Meece Hotel. He then sold the hotel on 10/06/1910 when it operated as the Pine Lodge Hotel. It was sold once again and renamed the Oleander Hotel. The article talks about renovations made to the hotel. It’s amazing how much we take for granted these days. How did they sleep on those hot summer nights? Without running water and sewers how did the guests manage their personal hygiene?
The article states that a sleeping porch was added to the south side of the hotel. The primary purpose of the “sleeping porch” was to provide a comfortable and cool place to sleep during warm weather, especially before the widespread availability of air conditioning. There was also a belief that fresh air and a connection to nature were beneficial for health and combating illnesses like tuberculosis or consumption. They were usually located on upper floors of hotels and houses, often at the back or side, to maximize airflow and privacy.
Speaking of which, it does not sound as if the sleeping porch provided a lot in terms of privacy. The article says that “The new Oleander hotel is now the talk of the traveling men…” Accompanied women were certainly welcome at hotels but women traveling alone could not find accommodations in any hotel unless she had an introduction or credentials and other evidence of her respectability. Women traveling alone in the 19th and early 20th centuries could expect to encounter both mistrust and skepticism at hotels. The hotels even had separate dining rooms or dining times for women.
As I mentioned in an earlier segment, electricity wasn’t introduced in Livingston until 1905. Patrons had to rely on candles, oil lamps and the hearth for lighting. The Livingston Power Plant was established in 1905 using a small wood-fired steam engine. Fifteen homes were initially wired for electricity and the plant only provided service at night for approximately five years. In 1907, the plant was sold for $2,000.00 to a group of local businessmen. This group included A. J. Sloan, L. T. Sloan, L. F. Gerlach, and others. It is not known if T.F. Meece was a part of this group. By 1910 several business houses had installed electric fans, and more household appliances were available, so the output was increased to include daylight service. The newly built school was the initial beneficiary of this daylight service.
The Livingston Telephone Company, by the way, was Polk County’s first utility and it wasn’t organized until 1903. And, of course, T.F. Meece was one of the original stockholders. The initial capital stock was valued at $2,000.00 and 40 telephones, each having their own line, were installed. T.F. had a phone in his office at the Holshousen building (1-0-1) and he had a phone at the Meece Hotel (5).
Telephone calls were initiated by the caller lifting the receiver, then requesting an operator to connect them to the desired number. The operator would then manually plug in a cable to connect the caller’s phone to the recipient’s phone, as the phone systems of the time relied on manual switchboards. Many early telephone lines were party lines, meaning multiple households shared the same phone line. The local operator was one of the most important sources of information in town. This could be both a blessing and a curse. Clearly, she had to be discreet when it came to the townspeople’s personal affairs.
It is hard to imagine a hotel that did not have a tub or shower and toilets, but this was the case prior to 1916. Personal hygiene in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century was quite different from our modern standards, heavily influenced by the prevailing beliefs about health and disease, as well as limited access to plumbing and readily available clean water. While the modern notion of daily bathing was uncommon, most people, especially the middle and upper classes, would wash daily through sponge baths or using a wash basin with a pitcher of water in their bedrooms.
Taking a full bath in a tub was a rare treat due to the effort involved in heating and hauling large quantities of water. People would wash their hands, face, neck, chest, armpits and private parts regularly using a washcloth, basin, and soap. When a full bath was taken, it might occur weekly or every few weeks. Water was often heated over a wood cookstove and poured into a metal basin for bathing. Clean water was a scarce and valuable resource, especially outside of urban areas. Soap was readily available and could be purchased or made at home from animal fat and lye. Hair washing was less frequent than body washing, occurring every few weeks or even once a month. People used soap or even ammonia to clean their hair. Daily brushing was crucial to remove dirt and distribute natural oils.
Many people believed that wearing clean linen undergarments, such as shifts or chemises, would absorb the body’s impurities and help to keep the skin clean. A “shift” and “chemise” are essentially the same garment. It was an undergarment worn next to the skin to absorb sweat and body oils. While the terms were used interchangeably, “shift” was the more common term before the Victorian era, with “chemise” becoming more prevalent later on. Both were typically made of linen (shifts) or cotton (chemises). These undergarments were changed and laundered frequently, often daily. Outer clothes, made of fabrics like cotton and linen, were also breathable and allowed for air circulation. As you can imagine, perfumes and lotions were popular and used to mask body odor or add a pleasant scent. You might say that the town of Livingston had a certain “air” about it.
While modern toothbrushes became available in the late 19th century, earlier teeth cleaning methods involved using salt on a finger or a small wooden piece to remove food debris. Tooth powder, the predecessor to toothpaste, was also used. Common ingredients included chalk, pulverized brick, salt, and charcoal.
Livingston, Texas, did not have a centralized sewage system. Human waste was typically managed through individual or household practices rather than municipal systems. Common methods for dealing with sewage in the 19th century included outhouses, cesspools and chamber pots. The chamber pots would be emptied by “night soil men,” who collected human waste to sell as fertilizer. The human waste would sometimes find its way into stormwater sewers or streets during heavy rains. These methods did not treat the wastewater. They polluted the soil and groundwater and posed significant health risks to the citizens.
One of the great advantages that Livingston had was that it was situated on the north side of Choate’s creek. According to a weekly humor magazine, the Texas Siftings, Choate’s Creek was described as “a bold stream of living limpid water…” Limpid meaning clear, transparent, or pellucid, as water, crystal, or air. According to a Polk County Enterprise article, an eight-ton ice plant was built along the banks of Choate’s Creek, which also featured cold storage. According to the article, “…the ice made at his plant is always pure, and far surpasses the ice made at the city plants. One reason is that Choate’s creek water is the purest in the State.” The First Baptist Church actually baptized members of its congregation in Choate’s creek.
In addition to Choate’s creek the residents likely utilized other resources such as wells, springs and rainwater cisterns. With the advent of “germ theory”, following the Civil War, Typhoid fever, cholera, and dysentery were still prevalent and often spread through contaminated water supplies. The use of chlorine as a primary disinfectant for public drinking water supplies became conventional in the United States around 1908, significantly reducing waterborne disease outbreaks. Federal regulation of drinking water quality began in 1914. Obviously these changes affected the larger metropolitan areas before they reached small towns such as Livingston. I can only hope that the townspeople were boiling their consumable water. The primary source of drinking water for the City of Livingston, TX today comes from Lake Livingston, which was built in 1968.
This article gives you a terrific snapshot of the town in December of 1895.
Livingston, the county seat of Polk county, is 71 miles N 21 degrees E. from Houston and 69 miles from Nacogdoches, being the most important railway station in the county.
It is situated on the north side of Choates creek, a bold stream of living limpid water, and a beautiful landscape with gradual elevation from the banks of said stream to its extreme northern limit.
The Court House, a handsome, commodious and comfortable structure, occupies the public square near the center of the town. The Jail, a modern structure, located on an adjacent block, furnishes a comfortable and secure home for violators of the law. These buildings are both constructed of brick with slate roofs, the former being stuccoed, giving it the appearance of a stately stone edifice.
The town is incorporated for school purposes; has a handsome and commodious school building situated near the center of its population, and levies a Special School Tax of 20 cents on the $100, for maintenance of the schools. It can boast of one of the best schools in East Texas, having an enrollment of 117 pupils with an average attendance of 90 per cent. There is also a good colored school of 117 pupils, with an average of 65 daily attendance.
There is an estimated population of 1,500 within the corporate limits and about 1,000 in the town.
Several fine residences have been erected recently, and neat, tasty home-like cottages are the rule.
Its citizens are noted for refinement, intelligence, morality and hospitality; are very public-spirited and enterprising as well as economical, and are very desirous of seeing their town improve, hence they offer every inducement and a cordial welcome, to capitalists, manufacturers, farmers and homeseekers.
A more law-abiding and orderly class of people could not be found.
There are six churches, three white and three colored, in the town, with large membership and good attendance at the regular services, Sunday schools and prayer meetings.
There is one architect, six mechanics, nine lawyers, three doctors, one real estate and insurance agency, nine general stores, three drug stores and two saloons, two wood shops, one blacksmith shop, one boot and shoe shop with tannery of limited capacity, and one shoe shop.
There is also a commodious two-story gin of 15 bales daily capacity, with grist mill attached, one cotton yard, one cotton seed house, two hotels, one restaurant, one barber shop and one printing office.
There is a Knights of Honor lodge here with a membership of 39. Also a Masonic lodge with a membership of 50. Up to date there has been 3.557 bales of cotton shipped from this place.
Water works commensurate to the growing demand of the town should, and probably will, be constructed in the early future. This can be done at comparatively small cost, Choates creek furnishing an ample supply of the very best water, running as it were, through the town.
A cannery of good capacity is much needed and would do a fine business, furnishing a market for nearly half the territory of the county.
A good sawmill with a hard wood manufactory connected can secure a good location here with almost an inexhaustible supply of the finest timber.
In fact any manufacturing plant can find a good and paying location on the banks of Choates creek, which furnishes an abundance of the finest freestone water, free from any of the alkalies or acids so often hurtful to steam boilers.
Livingston offers a fine field for investment and will extend a cordial welcome to those seeking such positions.
The following are some of the leading businessmen of Livingston:
C. J. Gerlach & Bro., general merchandise and cotton.
J. W. Cochran & Co., general merchandise.
T. F. Meece, real estate agent and Insurance.
Hin & Hill, attorneys at law.
Holshausen & Feagin, attorneys at law.
W. F. Gibson, M. D.
B. C. Marsh, M. D.
A. B. Green, Clerk County Court.