Today we visited the Annie Riggs Memorial Museum which was built at the turn of the 20C and was originally a hotel and boarding house run by a frontier woman of that name. It has an interesting history which includes divorces, killings, a prisoner who was incarcerated in another state who is pardoned for saving the life of the prison officer and becomes the Sheriff in Stockton. The building is well preserved with a wrap around verandah.
The home is built in the adobe style which involves the use of mud bricks mixed with mud and straw.
Annie Riggs moved to Ft Stockton with her family after the end of the Civil War. Her first marriage at 19 yrs of age bore over a 10 yr period 6 children. In 1891, she married Barney Kemp Riggs, a man concidered by many an outlaw. he had been sentenced for murder in AR and prisoned in the Yuma penitentiary. He recived a pardon from the Governor for saving the prison warder's life duringa riot. They had 4 children together and this marrige lasted around 10 years. Riggs was shot during an argument between Riggs and Annie's son - in -law from her first marriage. As there was no will the Riggs Estate was awarded to Annie and with the assets purchased the Koehler Hotel which was for $ 5,000.
Following are the rules for living in the Hotel.
This is the desk where Riggs was shot.
The fashion of the day is displayed throughout.
Each room is full of information of the time.
This was a state of the art kitchen in its day.
This was a very up market bedroom in its day.
This was the way to get around in those days.
The building has an outdoor area.
This is where branding irons were kept.
Fort Stockton has some interesting buildings. This is the original Jail.
There is a pretty town square.
The Courthouse is situated in the town square.
Cheers,
Ross and Beverley
No comments:
Post a Comment