Stuart Hotel

Originally named Hoyuby, Stuart was a Choctaw settlement until the influx of white men from railroad construction and oil and gas exploration caused the name (and population statistics) to change. B.A. Nunn traveled from Texas and built the Stuart Hotel (started in 1901 and completed in 1903) as a rest stop for railroad workers or those employed by the Texas Pipeline Co. Business boomed in the small town, the only stop between McAlester and Oklahoma City. The Nunn’s ran the hotel until the Orr family purchased it in 1915. During that time the Orr’s treated visitors and townspeople to family-style home cooked meals in their Star Café, which, for a time, was the only café in Stuart. They employed locals to help cook and clean and even ran the night police watch from the old kitchen, thus bolstering the small town’s fragile economy. It is said that Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd and his companion Adam Richetti stayed in the hotel (Room 6- in the rear, with access to an outside staircase, presumably for an easy escape) while visiting Floyd’s uncle who lived nearby. 

            During the Great Depression,  railroad jobs and travel in general decreased sharply, hurting business. Additionally, a disastrous fire in the 1940’s destroyed much of the town of Stuart and many people migrated west. Nonetheless, Mr. Orr kept the hotel up and running until 1968 when age and lack of business forced him to close the doors, leaving furnishings and belongings in the old hotel. Today, the hotel has been largely untouched, with much of the interior exactly as it was in the 1930’s. Damage from neglect and weather, however, is substantial. 

The City of Stuart has recently purchased the property, and owns a neighboring park. Though they are as yet unsure of the plans for its updated use, the main focus is cleaning, and repairing. Because it has been boarded up for so long, there has been little to no outside effect on the interior; however the lack of ventilation has increased the speed of decay and moisture build up. Plans are in place to restore electricity, gas, and water as soon as possible, but this is the beginning of a long road, and plans for the modern use of this historic structure are needed.