Marathon, Texas · Founded 1927 · Building: 1927
A current West Texas hotel bar inside the 1927 Gage Hotel, known for its white-buffalo mount and a preservation-led 1982 revival.
The White Buffalo Bar operates inside the Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas. Alfred S. Gage commissioned architect Henry C. Trost in 1926, and the Mission/Spanish-style hotel opened in April 1927. The hotel later closed and deteriorated before J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan acquired, restored, and reopened it in 1982; the exact history of the White Buffalo Bar's current name and centerpiece mount remains unresolved.
Alfred S. Gage commissioned Henry C. Trost and the Trost & Trost firm to design a hotel for Marathon. Architectural plans dated September 1926 survive in the El Paso Public Library.
Source: Henry Trost Historical Organization, "Gage Hotel Marathon, Texas"; Gage Hotel, "History"
The Gage Hotel opened in Marathon as a Mission/Spanish-style hotel designed by Henry C. Trost and built by Ponsford Brothers Construction Company.
Source: Gage Hotel, "History"; Henry Trost Historical Organization, "Gage Hotel Marathon, Texas"
Alfred S. Gage died about a year after the hotel opened.
Source: Gage Hotel, "History"; Texas Co-op Power, "Sleeping Giants"
The Gage Hotel says J.P. Bryan purchased the deteriorated property in 1978. J.P. Bryan later told Texas Highways that he and Mary Jon Bryan bought it in 1979, so the exact purchase year remains unresolved.
Source: Gage Hotel, "History"; Texas Highways, "Preservationist J.P. Bryan Has Amassed a Lifetime's Worth of Texas History"
After restoration, the Gage Hotel reopened. The property had previously closed and deteriorated.
Source: Henry Trost Historical Organization, "Gage Hotel Marathon, Texas"; Texas Time Travel, "Gage Hotel"; Latitude 65, "The Gage: A Legend by Any Measure"
The Bryans added the Los Portales addition to the Gage Hotel complex.
Source: Texas Highways, "Preservationist J.P. Bryan Has Amassed a Lifetime's Worth of Texas History"
The Gage Hotel continues to operate with the White Buffalo Bar, 12 Gage Restaurant, lodging, and other visitor amenities.
Source: Gage Hotel official website
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
The Gage Hotel's 1927 opening is well documented, and the White Buffalo Bar is a current hotel amenity. This review did not locate a dated source establishing when the bar adopted its present name or when the white-buffalo theme began.
The hotel later closed and deteriorated before J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan acquired it in the late 1970s and restored/reopened it in 1982. It is an important preserved hotel, but not an uninterrupted operation from 1927.
The large white-buffalo mount, called Henry in current promotional accounts, is a visible and consistently reported centerpiece of the bar. The review did not locate a provenance record, acquisition date, taxidermist record, or documentation identifying who obtained it.
The Texas Historical Commission Atlas lists the Gage Hotel as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. The exact year of that designation was not established in the material reviewed.
The Gage Hotel says Zane Grey was among notable guests and describes his alleged writing there as legend. This review did not find primary correspondence, manuscripts, hotel registers, or literary scholarship establishing the visit or any particular work created at the hotel.
Henry Trost architectural documentation identifies Mary Jon Bryan and J.P. Bryan Jr. as the present owners, and Texas Co-op Power reported that J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan continued to own the hotel after their restoration work.
The White Buffalo Bar has carried its current name and white-buffalo identity since the Gage Hotel opened in 1927.
The Gage Hotel opened in 1927, but this review did not locate a dated record showing when the bar adopted the White Buffalo Bar name or when its centerpiece white-buffalo mount was installed.
Source: Gage Hotel, "History"; Gage Hotel official website
The Gage Hotel has operated continuously since 1927.
The hotel later closed and deteriorated before J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan restored and reopened it in 1982.
Source: Gage Hotel, "History"; Texas Co-op Power, "Sleeping Giants"; Henry Trost Historical Organization, "Gage Hotel Marathon, Texas"
The Gage Hotel White Buffalo Bar is located at 102 North 5th Street.
The Gage Hotel is identified at 102 Northwest 1st Street / US Highway 90 West in Marathon, Texas.
Source: Henry Trost Historical Organization, "Gage Hotel Marathon, Texas"; The Texas Bucket List, "White Buffalo Bar and 12 Gage Restaurant in Marathon"
The Gage Hotel endured because its later owners treated it as a preservation and destination-hospitality project rather than relying on a claim of uninterrupted operation. J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan restored the closed building, later expanded the property, and positioned its hotel, restaurant, bar, and surrounding Marathon holdings for Big Bend-area travelers.
The Gage Hotel in Marathon, Texas, opened in April 1927 after rancher Alfred S. Gage commissioned architect Henry C. Trost to design it. The current White Buffalo Bar operates inside that hotel, but this review did not establish when the bar adopted its present name. The hotel later closed and deteriorated before J.P. and Mary Jon Bryan restored and reopened it in 1982.
Henry C. Trost of the El Paso architecture firm Trost & Trost designed the Gage Hotel. Alfred S. Gage commissioned the design in 1926, and the hotel opened in April 1927.
No verified oldest-bar title applies to the White Buffalo Bar. The Gage Hotel dates to 1927, but the exact beginning of the White Buffalo Bar as a named venue has not been established, and the hotel itself experienced a closure before its 1982 restoration and reopening.
Henry Trost architectural documentation identifies J.P. Bryan Jr. and Mary Jon Bryan as the Gage Hotel's present owners. They acquired the deteriorated hotel in the late 1970s, restored it, and reopened it in 1982.
102 NW 1st St, Marathon, TX 79842
(432) 386-4205
The White Buffalo Bar operates inside the Gage Hotel in Marathon; confirm current bar, restaurant, and lodging hours before visiting.