Jefferson
Excelsior House Hotel
Jefferson's 1858 river-port hotel, host to Grant, Hayes and Oscar Wilde, which the hotel says is the oldest continuously operating hotel in Texas.
- Built
- 1858Frame section built in the 1850s (NRHP significant year 1858; hotel 'Est. 1858'); brick wing added 1864; restored 1961-63.
- Style
- Classical Revival
- Type
- Inn
- Rooms
- 15
- Price
- $
- Credentials
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places; Inside a National Register historic district; Local landmark
The story
THC calls the Excelsior the oldest hotel in East Texas: its frame section dates to the 1850s and a brick wing was added in 1864. During Jefferson’s river-port days its guests included Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes and the poet Oscar Wilde. The Jessie Allen Wise Garden Club restored it in 1961-63 and still runs it.
The ghost story
The hotel's own page says guests have reported unexplained noises and cold spots in Room 215, which it links to a story about Steven Spielberg. It also says some have seen a headless man on the second floor and a woman in black carrying a baby. These are presented as guest and staff stories.
Source: theexcelsiorhouse.com
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Address: 211 W Austin St, Jefferson, TX 75657
Sources (3)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.