Lafayette Hotel

The Hotel Thurmond was later renamed the Lafayette Hotel and served visitors to Thurmond for years.

C&O Historical Society

Quick Facts

Significance:

Historic Location

Thurmond Walking Tour Stop 7

The first Hotel Thurmond burned down but was quickly replaced by a new hotel in 1902. The new hotel, known as the Lafayette Hotel, had thirty-five rooms and seven bathrooms. The hotel also boasted steam heat and four hundred electric lights. The dining room could hold sixty people.

The Lafayette Hotel was not without competition. The Dunglen Hotel located across the river competed with the hotel in Thurmond. The Dunglen is best known for its fourteen-year long poker game. Its luxury and entertainment activities contributed to earning the town the nickname “Dodge City of the East.” The Dunglen burned down in 1930.

Besides serving as a hotel, the Lafayette Hotel also had several business and shops. A jewelry store and barber shop operated in the hotel. For many years, it was also home to the post office and Bank of Thurmond. Tragically, the hotel burned down in 1963. Only the back brick wall of the hotel remains.