Clark Hotel
112 Broadway St., Van Horn, TXBuilt in stages between 1901 and 1929, the Clark Hotel stands today as the oldest existing structure in Culberson County. The simple, unadorned building constructed of locally made concrete blocks, was the first substantial commercial building erected in Van Horn. Originally built to provide office space, the edifice has housed a wide variety of activities including retail, governmental, bar room, and boarding. Housing this kaleidoscope of activities that ranged from governmental agencies to entertainment and vices, the structure for many years functioned as the nucleus of Van Horn.
An earlier retail establishment occupied the site from 1889 into the 1890s. When the township became organized, this structure was razed to make way for a new one. In 1901 the Cox brothers of Van Horn built a small office building. Anderson Lowden purchased the property in 1903 where he established Lowden Mercantile Company, and in 1904 added a lumber company. The Cox brothers again acquired the property in 1905 and began constructing the main portion of the current structure, utilizing local materials. Completed in 1906, the building housed professional and commercial offices, an opera house, a community center, a dance hall, and Woodmen of the World Lodge on the second floor and a pool hall," saloon, newspaper printing office, drug store, and jewelry store downstairs. The saloon was furnished with an ornately-carved mahogany bar imported from France in 1876. At this time the structure was oriented to the north on Front Street, Van Horn's main business street. Hitching posts lined the street for horses and rigs.
When Culberson County was organized in April 1911, and Van Horn voted county seat, the commissioners' court and other county officers occupied part of the structure as a courthouse, as it was the only structure large enough for that purpose. The county officers occupied the newspaper office until 1914 when a courthouse was constructed. The first district court was held in the second-floor opera house. On occasion, the noise from the saloon below would rise to such a level that it would disrupt the court sessions. In addition, the structure served as a center for local entertainment and social gatherings. Traveling theatrical groups and "chautauqua" performed in the opera house. Van Horn's post office, which presently occupies a portion of the structure, was first housed in a tiny room in a corner of the drugstore.
In 1918, Fred Clark, Sr. purchased the structure and converted it into a hotel. In 1925, U.S. Highway 80 was constructed through Van Horn, parallel to and south of Front Street. In 1929 an addition was constructed to house a cafe. Many structures located on the south side of Front Street were altered to face the major thoroughfare, including the hotel. The hotel functioned as such until the late 1960s. Each year an old-timers reunion is sponsored in the lobby by the Culberson County Historical Commission. The Van Horn Historical Society plans to continue the established diversity of usage as well as community service by converting the space into a museum.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.