On our travels through west Texas we landed in Marathon, home of the Gage Hotel. Marathon is in the middle of nowhere. It's at the intersection of Highways 90 and 385. The closest town is Alpine and that's 26 miles away. There's no chain grocery store or chain restaurants. There's no chain anything! If you want a Starbucks, you have to drive 114 miles to Pecos to get one.
So why does anyone go to Marathon? Why does anyone do anything?
Marathon is the second largest town in Brewster County. It was founded when the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway came through this area in 1882. It was a water stop for the steam engines that traveled through here. These days, the tracks are still here and the trains still run but they don't stop here anymore.
It's called the Gateway to Big Bend because if you stay outside the park, this is one of the closest towns with one of the nicest hotels. It's still an 80 mile hike!
In March of 1882, Captain Albion Shepard bought land there and established the Iron Mountain Ranch. He was a sea captain and then a surveyor for the railroad. Later that year, he applied for and received a post office for the town he named Marathon. This is his house which was built around 1887. It's a hotel now, part of the Gage Hotel Conglomerate.
By then, because of the railroad, the town was a shipping point for local ranchers.
The first school was built in 1888. This one room building also served as a church and a community hall. It was restored as a study club in 1926. Today it's the Marathon History Museum. I read that you can stop by the Chamber of Commerce and pick up a key to go in.
In 1898, the Marathon Baptist Church was organized. This building was completed in 1910.
In 1908, St. Mary's Catholic Church was founded. Their church was completed in 1909.
And finally, in 1910, The Marathon Methodist Church was built.
In 1907, oil was discovered in front of this building, the Chambers Hotel. A well was dug but only water was found. I read that, at least for a while, this became a private house. It's on the opposite side of the tracks from the rest of the town.
The French Grocer is the only grocery store in town. Their prices reflect the fact that they are in the middle of nowhere. Your other option is to drive 60 miles to the Walmart in Fort Stockton. But these guys do other stuff too. They have music shows and other events as well.
This is the United States Post Office. I wonder if it's the original that was granted to Albion Shepherd back in 1882. In 1911, Douglas MacArthur was stationed here to quell the raids from across the Rio Grande during the Mexican Revolution. His group was relieved by another group led by George S. Patton. Who knew?
In 1927, Alfred Gage, a local rancher, commissioned the building of this hotel. There weren't many accommodations "in town" so he enlisted famed designer Henry Trost from El Paso to build the hotel. He kept on of the rooms as his office.
The lobby of the Gage Hotel. The first time we stayed here it seemed like this was all of the hotel. Now there's a whole section of rooms further down the road. There's also a spa/fitness center where for an additional fee you can work out or enjoy some spa services. As I mentioned before, they also run the Captain Shephard house as well as a place across the railroad tracks.
Our room in the original building of the Gage. It's nice and this is why you go to Marathon. The room was close to $300 a night. A lot of people stay here as a jumping off point to Big Bend.
One of the cool things about the Gage Hotel is that it's pretty old fashioned. There was no elevator. It's only two stories and they still use old fashioned keys.
Marathon in March is quite nice. Not too hot, not too cool. The Gage has the only restaurants in town that I'm aware of. You can eat at the French Grocer but the main restaurant and the BBQ place next door are both owned by the Gage.
Walking around after dinner is a great way to enjoy the views. The mountains are particularly nice.
The sunsets are amazing.
When we visit these places, I try to find out as much about the history as possible. As we were walking around town, we saw these "remains" of buildings that were right next to the railroad tracks and I can't help but wonder what they were. Train depot? It's not really shaped that way. Strip mall? Probably not.
Next time I visit, maybe I'll have a chance to as one of the 400 people that still live here what that used to be.
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