The Sexton Hotel, also known as Hotel Stuart, is a historical building located in Stuart, Iowa,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The building is a two-story, L-shaped, brick and brick veneer structure that was built in two parts. The oldest section was a frame building built by John Sexton in 1893 and housed a restaurant. It was moved to the north and the brick hotel wing was built by Sexton in 1907. The older structure, now the north wing of the larger building, was covered with brick veneer. The primary entry into the hotel is located in the canted entrance bay on the southwest corner of the building. There were 28 guest rooms, and the first floor of the north wing housed the dining hall. The first floor also housed a large lobby, the owners quarters, and some of the guest rooms. The hotel served the needs of rail and highway travelers. It sat across the street from the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

depot, which is still standing. Front Street was a part of the first major highway across Iowa known as the "Great White Way", or the "White Pole Road." It later became

U.S. Route 6 U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...

. In the 1920 the name of the hotel was changed to Hotel Stuart. The hotel became an agent for the

Greyhound Bus Lines Greyhound Lines, Inc. (commonly known as simply Greyhound) operates the largest intercity bus service in North America, including Greyhound Mexico. It also operates charter bus services, Amtrak Thruway services, commuter bus services, and pa ...

in 1938. Interstate 80 opened to the south of Stuart in 1960, and took highway traffic away from town. The rail depot also closed. Hotel operations were discontinued in the 1970s, and the building served as an apartment building until 1999. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 2013.

References

Hotel buildings completed in 1907 Buildings and structures in Guthrie County, Iowa Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Neoclassical architecture in Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Guthrie County, Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub