The hotel was built as a saloon in 1872 when Cimarron was a wild west town, back in the days when law and order was non-existent; the town had a reputation as a place of violence. Well known outlaws such as Jesse James, Clay Allison and Black Jack Ketchum were frequent guests at the hotel, which was the scene of at least 26 murders. There are still 22 bullet holes visible in the ceiling of the hotel saloon.
Guest rooms were added in 1880, and the hotel had a reputation for elegance, and was a popular stop for visitors traveling to Santa Fe. The hotel had many famous guests: Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, Bat Masterson, Kit Carson, Wyatt Earp, Frederick Remington, NM Governor Lew Wallace, and Zane Gray.
The hotel has been remodeled and is a showplace to the style of the 19th century. There are guest rooms decorated in period furnishings and named for famous (or “infamous”) people who have stayed there.
The hotel claims to have half a dozen ghosts who live in the building, as well as numerous “restless spirits” who pass through. There are many many stories of ghost sightings, unexplained sounds, smells and occurences. Visitors are encouraged to take pictures of any ghost sighting they are witness to.
We spent a long time talking to the manager of the hotel, who loved telling us stories and was full of information and history.
What a great place! An excellent stop on our trip around the Enchanted Circle.
4 comments:
The St. James was always a fun place. I know some of the less famous people in those pictures down the hall. I always considered the Enchanted Circle to be Taos, Red River, Angel Fire. Cimarron was always considered "the other other side of the mountain."
We never were able to do the Enchanted Circle many times, so I always considered Cimarron an absolutely necessary detour on the trip; I would never take visitors on a trip around the circle without a side trip to Cimarron. :)
Ah... Great Minds!
But you posted more and better pics than I did, Sharon.
I wish now we would have went into the hotel. We had the dogs with us and didn't want them in the heat too long so we just snapped photos outside and headed on down the road. Thanks for posting these!
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