This Town Is Home to Texas’s Oldest Operating Hotel

In the 1850s, Jefferson, Texas, wasn’t reached by road but by steamboat, docking at what was then the state’s busiest inland port.

To house the influx, Captain William Perry built the Excelsior House Hotel in 1858, now the oldest continuously operating hotel in Texas.

Its guest book boasts presidents, Oscar Wilde, Lady Bird Johnson—and, according to legend, a spooked Steven Spielberg.

Let’s take a peek inside one of Texas’s living time capsules.

Jefferson, Texas: The Setting

Jefferson sits in Marion County in the far northeastern corner of Texas, about 60 miles north of Longview and 17 miles from the Louisiana border.

The town lies at the junction of U.S. Highway 59 and Texas Highway 49, near the western edge of Caddo Lake, the state’s largest natural lake.

Today, Jefferson’s population hovers around 2,000—a fraction of its peak. In its heyday during the 1860s and 1870s, the town swelled to as many as 30,000 residents, larger than Dallas at the time.

The streets still follow the distinctive V-shaped layout designed by founder Allen Urquhart, who angled the business district to face the bayou for easy cargo access.

The History of the Excelsior House Hotel

Founding and Early Years

Captain William Perry received the land where the Excelsior House stands as a gift from the City of Jefferson in 1846, a thank-you for his work keeping the Big Cypress Bayou navigable.

He built a family home, but its central location made it ideal for visitors. By 1858, Perry was renting rooms to merchants passing through town.

The original two-story frame structure was built in a simplified Greek Revival style. In 1866, Perry sold the property.

The new owner added a brick commercial wing in 1867, designed for traveling salesmen, with 19 guest rooms. A widow named Kate Wood purchased the hotel in 1878 and named it the Excelsior House.

In 1954, Estella Mae Fonville Peters of Shreveport took on restoration, purchasing period furniture from M.S. Rau, the renowned French Quarter antique dealer.

In 1961, the Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club took over management and continues to operate it as a nonprofit today.

Notable Guests

The Excelsior House keeps guest books dating back to its early years. President Ulysses S. Grant signed in. So did President Rutherford B. Hayes.

Oscar Wilde stayed during his 1882 American lecture tour. Lady Bird Johnson visited.

Steven Spielberg reportedly stayed while scouting locations for The Sugarland Express—and allegedly left in the middle of the night after a paranormal encounter in Room 215, an experience some claim influenced Poltergeist.

The hotel also connects to one of Jefferson’s most talked-about legends: Diamond Bessie Moore, a woman whose story in 1877 has been retold for generations.

Her companion, Abe Rothschild, was tried twice and acquitted in sensational trials. Some say Diamond Bessie’s spirit still wanders the grounds.

What the Hotel Is Like Today

Rooms and Atmosphere

The Excelsior House has 15 guest rooms, each furnished with period antiques in rosewood, cherry, and mahogany.

Canopy beds, ornate furnishings, and historic artwork reflect 19th-century styling, while modern amenities include cable TV, Wi-Fi, and air conditioning.

Rooms bear names connected to the hotel’s history: the Hayes Room, the Jay Gould Room (named for the railroad magnate who allegedly cursed Jefferson), and the Diamond Bessie Suite.

Several feature views of the New Orleans-style courtyard. The hotel lacks an elevator, and the bathrooms reflect older renovation standards.

But visitors don’t come expecting a modern chain hotel. They come to sleep inside Texas history.

Dining at the Excelsior

Breakfast is the hotel’s signature meal, served in the ballroom—an elegant space with French chandeliers, marble busts, and two grand pianos.

The Plantation Breakfast includes fresh orange juice, fruit, scrambled eggs, fried ham, grits, biscuits, and the famous orange blossom muffins that have been served here for decades.

The ballroom is available for private events, and the courtyard hosts weddings throughout the year.

Visiting Jefferson and the Hotel

What to See Nearby

Jefferson’s historic downtown remains remarkably intact, its brick streets lined with antique shops, galleries, and restaurants.

The Jefferson Historical Museum chronicles the steamboat era with artifacts and exhibits. Across from the Excelsior sits Jay Gould’s private railroad car, the Atalanta—a luxurious Gilded Age relic you can tour.

Turning Basin Riverboat Tours offers narrated trips down the Big Cypress Bayou. The Jefferson & Cypress Bayou Railway runs a reproduction steam train through the piney woods.

Caddo Lake, about 15 miles east, is a 26,800-acre maze of cypress-lined waterways and Spanish moss—Texas’s only natural lake and a hauntingly beautiful destination for kayaking.

Practical Tips

The Excelsior House is small and books quickly, especially during Jefferson’s popular events: the Historic Pilgrimage in late April/early May, the Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes in early December, and various festivals throughout the year.

Reservations are recommended.

Room rates include breakfast. For reservations, call (903) 665-2513 or book through the hotel’s website. The address is 211 W. Austin Street, Jefferson, TX 75657.

Sleeping Inside History

The Excelsior House Hotel isn’t just a place to stay—it’s a surviving piece of a Texas that vanished more than 150 years ago.

The steamboats stopped coming, the cotton trade moved elsewhere, and Jefferson faded from the state’s commercial map. But the hotel kept taking guests, decade after decade.

Today, you can eat breakfast in the same ballroom where travelers once celebrated their arrival in the Southwest’s gateway city, sleep in rooms where presidents rested, and walk streets that once rivaled Galveston in importance.