The Eastland Hotel. Photo by Jason Frels Photography

In 1918, Eastland County, Texas was in an oil boom. From 1910 to 1920, the population of the county more than doubled, and what had been a farming area became the tenth most populated county in Texas for a time.

The growth meant new businesses, including the three-story building one block from the courthouse that is now the Eastland Historic Hotel.

When the hotel opened in 1918, the first floor housed the Princess Theater, which showed silent films, and the Stanley Café. The second and third floors were the Stanley Hotel, which originally had thirty-four rooms and ten shared baths.

From the twenties until the nineties, most of the history of the building has been forgotten other than a few tidbits.

From a hand-written note on a yellowed cloth napkin I found in a drawer on the third floor, I…