The Menger Hotel

San Antonio’s Historic, Haunted Landmark

A hundred yards from the Alamo walls stands a two-story building of cut limestone, a hotel that has been welcoming guests to San Antonio for more than a century and a half. The Menger isn’t just any establishment; it’s the second-oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi. From before the Civil War until its closing in 2001, the Menger hosted presidents, generals, ranching tycoons, and one future Rough Rider who came to the bar to recruit an army. It is said to be haunted, too, by a few residents who never checked out.

The Menger’s history is intertwined with the ghosts that haunt its halls, as befits a hotel that has endured for more than a century and a half in a state where violence and change have been the norm. Here’s what actually happened, and what haunts the Menger today.

From Brewery to Landmark Hotel

It all began with a German immigrant named William A. Menger, who arrived in San Antonio in 1847. He resumed his profession as a cooper and brewer and soon established the Menger Brewery on the site of present-day Alamo Plaza in 1855. His wife, Mary (Maria Clara Baumschlueter Menger), maintained a boardinghouse on the same plot to accommodate the brewery’s workers.

In 1857, the Mengers decided to open a hotel and hired a local architect, John M. Fries, to design a two-story cut stone building with classical details. The construction was supervised by a local builder, John Hermann Kampmann, and finished in June 1858. It officially opened its doors on January 31, 1859, and has welcomed hundreds of guests ever since.

The location had an advantage as the Menger Hotel was built on the site of the Alamo battle. It was strategically located in the heart of San Antonio, which was a crossroads for cattle trails, military installations, and western expansion. It became a favorite destination for wealthy and famous people. Notable guests included the Texas governor Sam Houston, Confederate general (and former U.S. Army colonel) Robert E. Lee, and cattle baron Captain Richard King, founder of the King Ranch (one of the largest ranches in the world).

War, Railroads, and a Growing Reputation

When the Civil War broke out, San Antonio was full of Confederate troops, and the Menger family adapted their business needs to the new circumstances. The hotel closed its doors to guests but opened its dining room to feed the soldiers and allegedly provided rooms to take care of the injured. When the war and the Reconstruction period ended, the business resumed its operations and gained even more popularity. The hotel’s prosperity continued to grow when the railroad was built in San Antonio in 1877, and the Menger became a preferred hotel in the Southwest region for cattlemen, politicians, and ordinary tourists.

The hotel’s register has been opened for many guests over the years. Among them are U.S. Presidents Grant, Harrison, McKinley, Taft, Wilson, Truman, LBJ, Nixon, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, as well as famous writers like Oscar Wilde.

The Bar Where the Rough Riders Were Born

No feature of the Menger is more famous than its bar, which was installed in 1887. It was modeled after the bar in the House of Lords in London, with a solid cherry bar, cherry-paneled ceiling, and French mirrors, but still has the gold-plated spittoons of the day, also mostly intact.

The building where the Menger now stands was a major fixture in local history, being the place where Theodore Roosevelt came for the first time in 1892, on a javelina-hunting safari. He returned for a banquet in 1905, by which time he was a war hero and president, but the bar’s most famous claim to fame might be the part it played in the formation of the Rough Riders. When the Spanish-American War broke out, Roosevelt and Colonel Leonard Wood arrived in San Antonio to raise the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry, later known as the Rough Riders. Wood set up his official recruiting station at the bar on the patio of the hotel, attracting cowboys, ranch hands, and horsemen from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. The formal enlistment station was technically outside, but apparently Roosevelt and Wood held meetings in the bar, and the two tables on display there are said to be where the men signed up. The Menger achieved its status as a landmark in the 20th century, and today continues to function as an inn as well as a historical monument, with many of its original features intact.

The Ghosts of the Menger Hotel

Being haunted is not something that most places should be proud of, especially if it brings back unwanted memories and scary occurrences. Nevertheless, the Menger Hotel had such a reputation for over a century and a half — partly because of wars and riches, and partly due to the deaths of both the hotel’s guests and employees. It is not surprising that paranormal investigators, along with the hotel’s staff and visitors, have been able to notice numerous unexplained incidents related to certain individuals over the years.

Sallie White, the Hotel Maid

Probably the most common sighting reported around the Menger is of Sallie White, a maid who supposedly haunted the hotel in the 1870s. According to the employees’ lore, Sallie was murdered by her husband in 1876. Her ghost is said to appear often as a woman in a white dress trailing a towel cart or laying up linens in the upper hallways of the hotel. Sighted frequently by guests and staff, she is reported to vanish when approached or spoken to.

Captain Richard King, the Rancher Who Wouldn’t Leave

The first cattle baron named Captain Richard King, who once rented a room at the Menger, returned to this hotel to pass away. Supposedly, King spent his last days in a suite there, writing his will and bidding farewell to his friends, ultimately passing away in 1885. This suite, now refurbished and referred to by locals as the King Ranch Room, is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Richard King. It is claimed that King walks up and down the corridor of the former suite, which also features a wall where the front door had been located before renovations took place.

Soldiers, Guests, and Unexplained Encounters

Besides Sallie and Captain King, guests and paranormal investigators have reported numerous poltergeist incidents in the hotel, including hearing noises, feeling chilly, doors suddenly swinging open and shut, and seeing people in 19th-century attire. The hotel was a Civil War-era hospital, where many soldiers were treated for their wounds.

However, as with all things that have been happening there for over a century, none of these stories can be confirmed. They all should be taken with a grain of salt, as either legends or simply lies told by guests during their leave. But because of the sheer number of coincidences and the hotel’s history of being at the front line of firefights, deaths, and bloodshed during its time as a hospital, it remains on the lists of the most haunted hotels in America.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Menger Hotel really the oldest in Texas? It’s widely cited as the oldest continuously operating hotel west of the Mississippi River, having opened in 1859 and never closed its doors since.

Which room at the Menger is considered the most haunted? The suite associated with Captain Richard King, informally known as the King Ranch Room, is the room most frequently cited by guests and paranormal investigators.

Can you visit the Menger Hotel bar without staying overnight? Yes. The Menger Bar, where Theodore Roosevelt is said to have recruited Rough Riders in 1898, is open to the public as a working bar and is one of the hotel’s most visited historic spaces.

Visiting Today

The Menger Hotel is a going concern in downtown San Antonio, located near the Alamo and the River Walk, which means that its guests have the unique opportunity to sleep in the building where America’s presidents, Confederate generals, and a future Rough Rider have stayed, and where more than a few of the visitors have felt that they were not alone.

Have you ever been at Menger or had an experience that you cannot explain? Share it in the comments below.

Sources consulted for the historical details in this post include the Texas State Historical Association’s Menger Hotel entry, Wikipedia’s Menger Hotel entry, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s account of the Menger Bar, and Legends of America’s account of the hotel’s reported hauntings.