A LOT OF HISTORY!
The Hotel Turkey is a historic hotel located in Turkey, Texas, United States that originally opened in 1927. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 24, 1991.
The two-story reddish-brown brick prairie school designed structure was built by H. B. Jordan to take advantage of the extension of the Fort Worth and Denver South Plains Railway to the town of Turkey. On June 12, 1927 the building was partially complete when a tornado leveled it. Construction resumed shortly thereafter, and Hotel Turkey opened for business in November 1927.
The hotel was located just three blocks from the train depot and provided a meeting room to the traveling salesmen of the day to display their wares to the townspeople. The hotel also became a social center for the community as dances, banquets, and meetings of social and civic organizations took place in the dining room and lobby.
The hotel traditionally hosts the musicians who come to Turkey for the annual Bob Wills Day celebration on the last Saturday in April. George W. Bush, while still governor of Texas, once stayed at the hotel with his wife, Laura.
The hotel has had several owners including Gordon & Totsie Bain, Scott & Jane Johnson, Gary & Susie Johnson, John & Mona Bowles, and the most recent, a local rancher, Cody Bell, of Turkey. Cody owned the hotel from 2011-2015. Local residents of Turkey, Pat & Tina Carson, purchased the hotel from Cody and have started to renovate the hotel into a center for community activities as well as welcome guests from all over.
Did I mention that we are Red Raiders?? One of the highlights for us since owning the hotel has been being featured in the Texas Techsan, the magazine for Texas Tech Alumni. See the issue here. We have also been featured, more recently, in The Agriculturalist, the student publication for the Department of Agricultural Education and Communications. See this issue here https://ttuagriculturist.com/2020/04/29/follow-me-to-turkey-tx/