As my family and I were moving to Austin, Texas coming from San Diego, California (approximately 1,320 miles), we decided to include a few more stops with a toddler and doggo in tow. My husband is great at road trips (hope he’s drinking enough water). I, on the other hand, am a needy roadie; I need to stop a lot. Throw a child in the mix, you’ve got two needy humans.
The first planned stay was supposed to be in Tucson but when we pulled into a gas station, our child was full out losing his cool while I peeped the clock that displayed it was past 4 a.m. I asked if we could detour; I had no idea where we were, but I saw a space themed Best Western that caught my eye and although the hubs was not excited about my request, he was understanding and took action to get us in to rest.
I had a planned historical marker I was excited to get pictures with for my burlesque podcast! Well, the detour cancelled that plan but took me to a piece of treasure in a town rich with history I would have *never* thought to find on my own: Stout’s Hotel of Gila Bend.
First Stop: The Gila Monster
I never heard of the Gila Monster till we lodged in Gila Bend; native to the Southwestern part of America and Northwestern Mexico (particularly Sonora), this species is one of the two existing venomous lizards today protected under Arizona state law, so don’t kill them! They once lived abundantly with evidence dating back to the Cretaceous period (145-66 million years ago) and remnants have also been found in Las Vegas, Nevada with distant relatives in Asia, Australia, and Africa but live threatened today. Also, there’s a movie, The Giant Gila Bend Monster dedicated to the alarming lizard which I don’t believe was meant to be funny, but I couldn’t help but LOL. (I’ll link it here if you want to peep the trailer).
https://www.imdb.com/video/vi3960323609/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
My mom, born 1956, watched the movie with her [7] siblings and was terrified when the b-list flick made the screen! In my opinion, we know too much today to get scared, but love that for her.
Stout’s Hotel Today
Stout’s Hotel remains one of the only pieces of American history to survive the phases of its town. The venue that shined like a newly polished shoe in the early to late 1900s stands withered in the present with time, neglect, and scorching Arizona temperatures, but her glittering personality still radiates through the building and marquee.
The town was able to acquire the structure in 2017, and the grass-roots Stout’s Hotel Society with the help of the Motley Design Group fought for historical preservation of the building and won the battle on September 24, 2018! The hotel has been analyzed on how best to use the space along with rehab costs: a Town Hall, community civic center, outside amphitheater, museum, lease space, or even another hotel are a few ideas that have been thrown around. Till then, it’s a place if one loves to think about what could’ve happened there or what it could become, stop the car and take it all in.
Once a Bustling Boom Town
You might be wondering what’s with the random slide deck: a grafittied train in action, a rusted water tower, and a stop sign with cross streets; it might be hard to believe today, but this is the side of the tracks where all of the Gila Bend boom action began! After the Civil War and being only U.S. territory at this point in time, 1879 brought the railroad tracks and the game of economic opportunity began relocating the town four miles southwest to where it currently stands.
In 1888, the new town was official. Stout’s was not the first hotel in Gila Bend, but would eventually be deemed the best.
By 1914, two years into Arizona (est. 1912) being an official state of the US, the owners of the hotel Albert or A.H. Stout and his wife Frankie Fogel opened their doors the first time right across from the Southern Pacific Railroad station where commercial activity took place on Murphy Street (pictured above). The door (posted below) was the original entrance location, where not only the passengers, but freight crew would bring the entrepreneur a flourishing business. In turn the hotel participated in “the Southern Pacific eating club and dormitory.”
In 1916, a fire would destroy the hotel, forcing Stout’s to rebuild and open a second time. Seven years later (1923) Gila Bend gained speed in their key economic factor: travelers on the Maricopa Route that reached the “cutoff” to California, leading Stout to make the executive decision to add on 16 more rooms with a pool table in the basement. A convenience store plus a gas station with cars now in competition with railway services for traveling needs placed the move into the hotel with his family to oversee operations successfully for their third round of re-opening.
(Original entrance side, Murphy Street 2024)
Technology for trains began to shift and the Southern Pacific Railroad locomotive (engine of the train) no longer needed steam or Gila Bend as a water stop, leased their water wells to Stout in 1926 who used the opportunity to form another business: A.H. Stout City Water Works. He was given the green light by the Arizona Corporation Commission and supplied the town of Gila Bend with their water resource. It was time for his sons who were now old enough, Eddie and A.H. Jr, to step in and help with the family business. One year later, 1927-1929 would bring the biggest shift the hotel would see, the move to Pima Street.
(A.H. Stout pictured above at the Pima Street entrance).
Change in the Game…Again
What is the norm for us today- automobile use as transportation, didn’t gain popularity in the states till the 1910s. By 1921, the newly built U.S. route 80 (now known as Old U.S. Route 80) was constructed, bringing a new set of needs for travelers and lodgers in Gila Bend. Commercial activity would respond to the shift and Pima Street would become the “new” main event.
In 1927, prolific architect Henry Trost of the Trost & Trost firm headquartered in El Paso, Texas with offices in Tucson, Arizona, would reach out to Stout to offer his artistic touch on the hotel; the expansion of the building along with the chance to take advantage of moving the entrance to face the town’s new point of action would become official. Moving foward, Stout’s Hotel could provide both the rail and car connections a soft place to lay their heads with a plethora of amenities to keep them cool, fed, and entertained.
Stout’s Hotel now touted 65 rooms, and a café/restaurant, post office, barber shop, ice cream parlor, billiards room, and gas station where he could also serve the residents of Gila Bend. The coolest part (IMO) is big names like John Wayne, Bing Crosby, Yellowstone Chip (a.k.a. Percy Durward Samuell), Clark Gable, and Tim Holt rented a room for the night in what was now known as “the most modern hotel on the desert” due to Old Tucson studios (home of the Hollywood made Westerns) being a destination from Los Angeles: it was the only one providing air conditioning and steam heat.
The Final Wave
“This brings back lots of memories. When I was in high school (Buckeye UHS) I worked for a plumber and we did a job in the crawl space under the Stout Hotel–old booze and beer bottles with intact labels all over the place, and a Navy Colt revolver hidden on one of the sewer pipes. Most of the sewer pipes were brass in the early 1960s. Be interesting to see if any of that is left.” – Unknown
There are rumors that a speakeasy was involved in Stout’s Hotel (the lady at the gas station told me she witnessed it herself, but I can’t seem to find documentation). The comment above along with the Stout’s Hotel Society Facebook page that claims there may have been underground tunnels built during the Prohibition Era is all I have to go on, and I’m here for it.
The marquee was updated in 1956 (the one that still stands today) three years before Albert passed. To see the picture above with a more vibrant air is wild to me- that is not the vibe I experienced.
The cafe turned into a bar, and the post office relocated, but the hotel was the only one in town with an elevator and balcony (there were only two floors, but still cool for that era).
Interstate Highway 8 was put in motion by 1973 giving drivers a faster way to head east, leading to the fall of action in GB. The copper mine which kept the Gila Bend railroad station active also began to decline in production by the 1970s. Eddie Stout ran the hotel while his mother Frankie who remarried, still maintained ownership until she passed in 1976. It was then passed to Edward and Rhonda Stout; by then the hotel was done doing business. Living in Phoenix, Edward and Rhonda couldn’t keep up with the building. 20 years later , retired with dreams to reactivate the 1920s version of the hotel, they moved in as their former family members had done but the neglect had taken its toll.
The main thing to remember is 2016, when the building was evaluated, it didn’t pass with flying colors, but the Trost company gave it a great foundation and things are still repairable with a little loving (and a fatter bank account).
Backstory
Before Arizona was an American state, Gila Bend’s main focus was the Gila River. The indigenous group, Hohokam, settled into this area in the B.C. era, living sedentary lives as they grew corn, community, and created a highly developed irrigation canal system.
The river aided Spanish missionaries in the late 1700s-early 1800s to keep their cattle hydrated while guiding soldiers and trappers to the main route of Southern California. The 49’er miners used the Gila Trail to get to the goldfields, too! Before the railroad and highways, Gila Bend’s geography lent a wagon trail for travelers: “famous guides Father Kino, Juan Bautista de Anza, Kit Carson and Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Lewis and Clark Expedition guide, Sacagawea” all used the Gila River to nourish themselves with water while resting to stay focused on getting to their intended destination. Even A.H. Stout would meet his wife Frankie when she and her family took the wagon trail to Gila Bend!
The descendants of the Hohokam, the Akimel O’odham (Pima) and the Pee-Posh (Maricopa) tribes, were peaceful, however the Apache were not; the Oatman Massacre would take place near Gila Bend on the wagon trail, the family of nine would have one survivor, two held in captivity and the rest were sadly murdered by the difficult tribe.
The Butterfield Overland Mail and Stage line (think Pony Express) built the Gila Ranch Station, near the bend of the Gila River in 1858. This location was the last of the watering holes for the horses for miles. The Apaches would burn down the mail station, but it was rebuilt in 1860. The Stage line lasted for five years, however, being near the river would secure a residency on the trails east and west.
The hotel, awarded the title “jewel of the desert,” with a town known as “the crossroads of the southwest” refuses to let go. The marquee, although it has seen better days, is still gorgeous to those who can see a diamond in the rough. The town is now a desolate, desert town with run down homes, trailer living, and poverty levels that scream a need for more economic opportunities, but somehow the town finds ways to hold onto sparse financial options while keeping the same kind, community centered, lodging vibe they’ve always embodied.
Prince Harry even lived in the Bend for a month for military training! Gila Bend is also gaining traction on becoming the solar power capitol of the nation: there’s something about this town that knows how to keep shining even through dull moments.
Preserving things that hold value but may have a dilapidated foundation is not a given; it takes work. I could see this place become another hotel with money put into refurbishing the history while adding in a gorgeous bar area that acts like a speakeasy with tours of the place to showcase everything it’s been through and everything it still stands for. Also, holding town events marketed at high blast for fundraising along with the town hall idea to create a new wave of history is something I could see happening successfully.
Gila Bend and Stout’s Hotel hold so much in common: a mail station, a watering hole, multiple phases and a place to lay your head from kind strangers that find opportunity like a needle in a haystack. It attracts fame and although the fortunes aren’t always high, they exist. This place may not be on one’s bucket list (certainly wasn’t on mine), but it showed me if one can remember the value they hold for situations, places, whatever, it might seem like it’s time to let go, but not all may be lost with a little remodeling.
Fiona Fox Ryan Writes 