The Wilcox

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

One of Aiken's most well-known landmarks, the Wilcox is a historic hotel that opened in 1900. The hotel was known around the world during its first period of operation from 1900 to 1957 when it catered primarily to wealthy white tourists. Many of these families visited Aiken from the Northeast, making the hotel the focal point of the "Aiken Winter Colony." During the winter, many wealthy people—including members of the Rockefeller and Vanderbilt families—lived in Aiken owing to its reputation for mild weather. As a result, Aiken became a popular resort community that became known as the Winter Colony. The hotel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and reopened in 2002 following extensive renovation and remains an excellent example of Colonial Revival architecture.

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The Wilcox is a historic hotel originally built in 1900. During its peak years, it catered to wealthy guests and residents who lived in Aiken during the winter.

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

Frederick Wilcox arrived in America in 1891 and moved to Aiken 1897 with his wife, Elise, who was Swedish. It appears he came to Aiken to work as a caterer at a hotel called the Highland Park Hotel. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed it on February 6, 1898. However, its demise presented an opportunity to Wilcox to build the new hotel in 1900. He bought a house in 1906 on an adjacent property to accommodate the increasing number of guests. In 1910, Wilcox built a ballroom to connect the two buildings. The last expansion came in 1928 when Wilcox's son, Albert, enlarged the hotel to its present appearance (Wilcox died suddenly in 1924).

The hotel was popular for its amenities (it had the first bathtub connected to plumbing in the city), service, and restaurant and became a prestigious gathering place for prominent business and political leaders and their families. A few world figures stayed at the hotel as well including future British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

The hotel started to decline during World War II as travel was reduced and many colonists joined the military. Business picked up after the war but the hotel's heyday was over. Additionally, the establishment of the Savannah River Site (the nuclear industrial complex located south of Aiken) in 1950 changed the makeup of Aiken from a resort community to a small town. Albert, who by then was in his 60s, decided to sell the property in 1957. The next owner, an Oriental rug dealer named Joseph Eways, made a few attempts to repair the former hotel for other uses. The building remained closed or underutilized until 2002 when it reopened as The Wilcox after two years of renovation.

Sources

Marion, Margaret. "Wilcox's." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. March 19, 1982. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/9ede24dc-3f22-4133-bcd8-6d03d8802db9.

"Our Story." The Wilcox. Accessed May 21, 2021. https://thewillcox.com/our-story.

"The Winter Colony Aiken." Discover Aiken County. Accessed May 21, 2021. https://discoveraikencounty.com/the-winter-colony-of-aiken.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

Bill Fitzpatrick, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilcoxs_Exterior.jpg

Additional Information

The Wilcox