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Jefferson's The Excelsior House
The Excelsior House is the remarkably restored centerpiece
of Jefferson, a town sometimes called the "Williamsburg of Texas."
Built in the 1850s by riverboat captain William Perry, the historic hotel
has remained in continuous operation since then, although by the middle
of this century, the brick-and-timber structure had slowly deteriorated
and was largely forgotten.
Its rebirth began
in 1954, when Estella Fonville Peters purchased the inn and undertook
its renovation. Opening the building to public tours, filling the drawing
room with the music of noted orchestras, and hosting elaborate balls,
she revived interest in the hotel---and, in the process, sowed the seeds
of Jefferson's commercial future. The Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club bought
the hotel when Peters died in 1961 and has maintained and operated the
facility with care ever since. The club has also made significant improvements,
such as adding bathrooms and tearing down walls between the tiny rooms
once consigned to traveling salesmen.
With iron columns and a lacy ironwork gallery
that lend flourish to the simple rectangular edifice, the Excelsior House
looks like it came to the Wild West by way of New Orleans. The ballroom
features a French chandelier, Oriental rugs, antique marble mantles, and
a pair of period pianos. The dining room includes a glassed-in patio,
where guests can enjoy a Plantation Breakfast of orange blossom muffins,
country ham, scrambled eggs, and biscuits.
Each of the inn's 13 guest rooms and suites
has a story to tell. Past guests have included William Vanderbilt and
Oscar Wilde; both Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes slept in what
is now the Presidential Suite. Lady Bird Johnson was a frequent visitor
and donated a good deal of the furniture in the room that bears her name.
All the rooms are furnished with antiques, including marble-topped dressers,
spool beds, and mahogany, cherry, and maple pieces.
Spurned railroad tycoon Jay Gould had predicted
doom for Jefferson in the Excelsior House lobby in the 1870s, so it's
fitting revenge that one of the hotel's most popular rooms is named after
him. Across the street from the hotel, "Atalanta," Gould's decadently
ornate private railroad car, is open to public tours.
For More Information:
visit www.theexcelsiorhouse.com/
Related page: Jefferson,
Texas Index
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