The Andress Inn was the first hostelry or hotel in Livingston, TX. It was constructed in 1847. It was the 3rd hotel erected in Polk County following those built at Drew’s Landing and Swartwout. It was an inn, restaurant, saloon, general store, livery stable, bank, post office, stagecoach station, justice of the peace office, meeting place and recreation hall. It even had a bowling alley.
The Dunnam Hotel was built sometime around 1880, shortly after the Houston East & West Texas Railway (HE&WT) arrived in Livingston, TX. Construction of the railroad began in 1876. It is believed that a gentleman by the name of Montalvan Adolphus Dunnam built the hotel. Letitia A. Dunnam, his wife, purchased Lot 9 on the N/E Corner of Block 10 from W.J. Brown and his wife R.M. Brown for $100.00. M.A. Dunnam was not named in the deed. T.F. Meece was the Polk County Clerk at that time and he administered the deed transaction.
Montalvan Adolphus Dunnam served as Polk County Sheriff from 1866 to1867 and from 1878 to 1880. M.A. Dunnam also served in Hood’s Brigade Co. B 1st Texas in the Civil War. He was the son of LT Samuel Blackwell Bell Dunnam who was the first pastor of the Methodist Church in Livingston. He was buried in the Old City Cemetery. Samuel’s daughter, Frances Eugenia Dunnam Hill, was married to Judge James E. Hill.
Judge Hill’s residence is still intact and it sits at the corner of Mill and Jackson in Livingston. It is now home to the Polk County Garden Club.
On December 4th, 1883 Mary Shotwell, formerly Mary Ann Brown, purchased the Hotel from Dunnam for $800.00. Her husband, George Scott Shotwell, had passed away on September 25th, 1879. At the time of purchase, she was the mother of (4) young children. Mary Ann was, curiously enough, the sister of Amelia Antoinette Brown Meece, the wife of T.F. Meece.
She was granted, free of rent, the use of the remaining block except for the stone house of Randolph and Company. Mary was required to take reasonable care of the fruit trees, grapevines and fencing.
On December 30th, 1887 Mary sold the hotel and property for $650.00 to T.F. Meece, who renamed it the Meece Hotel. Family discount? It was first associated with T.F. Meece in 1888 when a Polk County Newspaper described him as a merchant, land agent and owner of the hotel. T.F.’s first mention of the hotel was in an article in the East Texas Pinery dated 09/15/1892. It was an advertisement under T.F. Meece’s Column. The East Texas Pinery was a weekly newspaper first appearing in 1882 and operating until 1898.
In the 1900 United States Federal Census from Lufkin, TX in Angelina County, following the sale of the Meece Hotel, Mary Ann described her occupation as Hotel-Keeper. Her son Mark was listed as a Hotel-Keeper as well. Her daughter Annie was listed as Chamber-Maid. She had (2) boarders, one a brick mason and the other a Day-Laborer. It sounds more like a boarding house than a hotel.
T.F. had a five room cottage nearby on Railroad Avenue, in the direction of Livingston. Railroad Avenue was adjacent and parallel to the railroad tracks. It can be seen on the 1935 Sanborn Insurance map. To my knowledge, the road no longer exists. According to the attached article, T.F. and his partner Joseph Lee Manry constructed “new and elegant cottages” on Block #1.
The article also announced plans by Luther Marshall Meece, T.F.’s son, to extend the dining hall twelve feet to the front of the hotel, with a bedroom above and a two-story gallery south, the entire length of the building. Very ambitious plans. All of this was announced in the attached article published in 1903.
He described the hotel as a place where travelers and passengers could get a hot meal at any hour, the best the country affords at reasonable prices. Guests would assemble in the “spacious dining room.” An example of the dinner menu, “which was printed on dainty decorated cards” consisted of:
• Scalloped oysters, baked fish with hollandaise sauce or baked turkey with cranberry sauce.
• Boiled sweet potatoes, steamed potatoes or stewed tomatoes.
• Olives, salad, celery, baked apples or cake.
• Fruits and nuts.
• Chocolate, coffee, tea and milk.
After dinner, the guests “retired to one of the comfortable parlors in the hotel.” The hotel would routinely advertise in the local paper asking for:
• Chickens Wanted – Will pay 30 cents apiece for good fryers.
• Bring your chickens, eggs and butter to the Meece Hotel.
Regular guests of the hotel were charged $2.00 per night which is equivalent to $69.34 today. Quite a bargain! Aside from its regular guests the hotel would operate as a venue for events such as meetings, weddings, correspondent dinners for the Polk County Enterprise, Woodmen of the World meetings (fraternal organization), etc. The lower panel of the screen doors of the Meece Hotel appear to contain replicas of the State of Texas. The individual on the front porch in the photo is unidentified.
The 1st annual Polk County Fair was held on 10/21/1909. The Meece Hotel was the staging point for the start of the parade. The parade disbanded at the courthouse. I’ve attached photos of the parades from 1909 through 1912.
A Doctor Hart used to operate out of the Meece Hotel periodically. He advertised that he could “treat all diseases of the eyes, ears, nose and throat and fit glasses. He has cured hundreds of your neighbors who were blind and led to him. Many were led for years that he gave vision.” Where was this guy when I turned 40? This is my favorite line. “Call at office and investigate and if you can be cured he will guarantee a cure. If you cannot be cured he will frankly tell you so and you will be out no money.”
