Ardmore in Carter County, Oklahoma — The American South (West South Central)
Randol Hotel
Photographed By Mark Hilton, October 21, 2019
1. Randol Hotel Marker
Inscription.
Randol Hotel. . Before 1899, J.W. Banks built, at this site, a mercantile establishment combined with lodging quarters. In 1903, W.F. (Dixie) Gilmer arrived from North Carolina and leased the hotel which was a three story structure with rooms on the second and third floors and long, wide verandas facing Main Street. As was the custom of the day, a horse-drawn carriage carried guests of the hotel to and from the train station.
But it was the Randol Hotel that international attention was focused on this location when on November 21, 1920, Jake Hamon, prominent oil man and political figure slated to become Secretary of the Interior under President-elect Warren G. Harding, was shot by his mistress and died a few days later. The murder trial of Clara Smith Hamon in 1921, which ended in acquittal, was closely followed by newspapers around the world through reports from the mass media that descended upon Ardmore.
On July 17, 1925, fire of undetermined origin destroyed this famous landmark.
Before 1899, J.W. Banks built, at this site, a mercantile establishment combined with lodging quarters. In 1903, W.F. (Dixie) Gilmer arrived from North Carolina and leased the hotel which was a three story structure with rooms on the second and third floors and long, wide verandas facing Main Street. As was the custom of the day, a horse-drawn carriage carried guests of the hotel to and from the train station.
But it was the Randol Hotel that international attention was focused on this location when on November 21, 1920, Jake Hamon, prominent oil man and political figure slated to become Secretary of the Interior under President-elect Warren G. Harding, was shot by his mistress and died a few days later. The murder trial of Clara Smith Hamon in 1921, which ended in acquittal, was closely followed by newspapers around the world through reports from the mass media that descended upon Ardmore.
On July 17, 1925, fire of undetermined origin destroyed this famous landmark.
34° 10.4′ N, 97° 7.858′ W. Marker is in Ardmore, Oklahoma, in Carter County. Marker is on West Main Street (Oklahoma Route 199) west of B Street NW, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 209 West Main Street, Ardmore OK 73401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 9, 2019. It was originally submitted on November 9, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 420 times since then and 71 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on November 9, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.