Hotel Stilwell records, 1945-1975

Authors

Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library

Files

Description

This collection consists of guest records, registration cards, financial records and miscellaneous financial documents related to the Stilwell Hotel in Pittsburg, KS.

The city of Pittsburg formed a board of trade in 1889 that concluded that Pittsburg needed a modern hotel. Initial seed money of $100,000 was acquired in July of that year. Arthur E. Stilwell of Missouri, Kansas and Texas Trust company provided further funding, so it was decided to name the hotel after him. In July of 1889, W. C. Lindsey was hired to design the hotel and C. W. Green to build it. The hotel was dedicated on April 26, 1890. The Hotel Stilwell has played an important role in the history of Pittsburg. In 1919 it served as the temporary capital of Kansas. Clarence Darrow issued his reply to the interrogatories of the Scopes “Monkey” Trial from the hotel in 1925. Speeches by William Jennings Bryan, Eugene V. Debs, Theodore Roosevelt, Susan B. Anthony and more were delivered from the balcony. The hotel was added to the National Register of Historic Sites in 1980.

Publication Date

9-6-2022

Keywords

Business and Industry, Recreation and Tourism, Social Life and Customs

Disciplines

Business

Size of Collection

18 linear feet

Dates of Collection

1945-1975

Manuscript Number

SpC MS 0129

Recommended Citation

Special Collections, Leonard H. Axe Library, "Hotel Stilwell records, 1945-1975" (2022). Finding Aids. 429.
https://digitalcommons.pittstate.edu/fa/429