Mountaineer Hotel
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The historic Mountaineer Hotel is located in Williamson, West Virginia. The Mountaineer Hotel was built in 1925 with 116 rooms. This historic hotel is still open today with the same features as it once had when it opened in 1925.
Images
The Mountaineer Hotel
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Located in Williamson, West Virginia this five-story historic hotel was built in 1925 as a community hotel to serve the ever growing population in Williamson. The citizens of Williamson were mostly workers in the coal mines, and the community supported the construction of a hotel in their downtown area.The hotel meant that new jobs would be available and downtown would flourish. During its construction citizens were asked to be a part of naming the the new hotel, Mountaineer Hotel was the chosen name.
During the second part of the twentieth century, the town of Williamson began taking losses both economically and in population. The Mountaineer Hotel soon began to fade into the background as there was no longer a need for a community hotel. However, the hotel managed to stay in business and unlike other hotels in the surrounding area that were being demolished, the Mountaineer Hotel remained. Everything that the hotel once offered travelers and guests was now being transferred to a different building.
In 1995, the hotel underwent new management and soon the hotel was being used as it once had been when it first opened. The rooms were being filled, and the dance halls were being rented out. The Mountaineer Hotel still remains open and because of its historical background it is bringing people back into the city of Williamson.
Notable people who have stayed at the Mountaineer Hotel: President John F. Kennedy; Jay Rockefeller; John L. Lewis, UMWA president; Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company; western movie actor Lash La-Rue; singer Tex Ritter; actress Greer Garson; Charles Osgood, CBS TV-news.1
During the second part of the twentieth century, the town of Williamson began taking losses both economically and in population. The Mountaineer Hotel soon began to fade into the background as there was no longer a need for a community hotel. However, the hotel managed to stay in business and unlike other hotels in the surrounding area that were being demolished, the Mountaineer Hotel remained. Everything that the hotel once offered travelers and guests was now being transferred to a different building.
In 1995, the hotel underwent new management and soon the hotel was being used as it once had been when it first opened. The rooms were being filled, and the dance halls were being rented out. The Mountaineer Hotel still remains open and because of its historical background it is bringing people back into the city of Williamson.
Notable people who have stayed at the Mountaineer Hotel: President John F. Kennedy; Jay Rockefeller; John L. Lewis, UMWA president; Henry Ford, Ford Motor Company; western movie actor Lash La-Rue; singer Tex Ritter; actress Greer Garson; Charles Osgood, CBS TV-news.1
Sources
1. http://www.wvculture.org/shpo/nr/pdf/mingo/97000265.pdf