Editing Matador, Texas (section)

==Area attractions==
[[Image:Hotel Matador in Matador, TX IMG 1562.JPG|right|thumb|The restored Hotel Matador was founded in 1914 as the Carter Hotel.]]
[[Image:Matador, TX, City Hall IMG 1545.JPG|right|thumb|Matador City Hall]]
[[Image:First State Bank, Matador, TX IMG 1546.JPG|right|thumb|First State Bank in Matador, Texas]]

===Hotel Matador===
Originally the Carter Hotel, the Hotel Matador was built in 1914 by Roy Carter and his wife, the former Jessie Simpson. For a rural area, the hotel had luxurious rooms with a bell hop, a full-time gardener, and laundry service. It had 15 rooms, a dining room, and a large 9-foot, oak-rimmed tub as the only bathroom in the facility. An [[ice cream]] parlor, which ran the length of the lobby, operated until the 1920s.<ref name=hotel>"Hotel Matador", [[West Texas Historical Association]], March 31, 2011</ref>

The name "Hotel Matador" was coined in the 1920s. The hotel changed owners several times. Under the direction of Judge C.B. Whitten, it was a community gathering place for meetings, parties, and dances for young people. In 1941, hotelier and barber Warren Clements purchased the property. He turned the ice cream parlor into a barber shop. He also established living quarters for  his wife, Faye, and himself, with an apartment behind the hotel. Mrs. Clements maintained an English garden cultivating prize [[iris (plant)|iris]]es, and under her tutelage, the hotel was known for its entertainment.<ref name=hotel/>

In 1980, Johnny (Sonny) and Evelyn Jackson purchased the hotel and restyled it into apartments. It later became a single residence, but had been abandoned for five years when three sisters took possession and began reclaiming and restoring the historic facility. The sisters, Marilyn Hicks, Linda Roy, and Caron Perkins, operate the Matador as an eight-unit bed and breakfast. The barber shop was converted to the Circle Cross Heritage suite, with the original tin ceiling and elaborate bathroom fixtures.<ref name=hotel/>

===Traweek House===
Albert Carroll Traweek, Sr., (1875–1959) was a [[physician]] in Matador, originally from [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]], known as the "pneumonia doctor" for his success in treating patients with that sometimes fatal illness. He was the first Motley County public health officer and established the Traweek Hospital, now the [[Motley County Historical Museum]]. In 1915, Dr. Traweek began construction on the Traweek Home, designed by Charles Stephen Oates, Traweek's uncle and a noted builder in [[West Texas]]. The two-story stuccoed masonry structure was completed in 1916 at a cost of $14,000. It is a hybrid of [[Italian Renaissance architecture|Classical Renaissance]], [[Prairie style|Prairie]], and [[Classical Revival architecture]].<ref name=thouse>"Traweek House", Historical marker, [[Texas Historical Commission]], Matador, Texas</ref>
 
Among the visitors to the Traweek House was Baldwin Parker, a son of [[Quanah Parker]], the last [[Comanche]] chief, as well as state and national officials. The house at 927 Lariat Street in Matador remains in the Traweek family. It received an official historical medallion in 1964 and was designated in 1990 as a Texas Historic Landmark. Dr. Traweek and his wife, the former Allie Rainey, had six children. The house was last occupied by their youngest son, Howard Traweek (1912–1988), the [[county attorney]] for five decades, and his wife, the former Eleanor Mitchell (1922–1998).

===Bob's Oil Well===
Luther Bedford "Bob" Robertson (1894–1947), a native of [[Greenville, Texas]], came to Matador in the 1920s. Originally a service-station attendant, he opened his own [[Conoco]] gasoline business, which he topped with a decorative wooden oil derrick. He patented his design, and in 1939, he replaced the wooden derrick with one of steel. It stood 84&nbsp;ft in height and was lighted.<ref name=bob>"Bob's Oil Well", Historical marker, [[Texas Historical Commission]], Motley County, Texas</ref>

Robertson advertised his business in unusual ways, having maintained a cage of live [[rattlesnake]]s for the amusement of tourists. He later added a small zoo of lions, monkeys, and coyotes, and a white buffalo. He paid long-distance truckers to place advertising signs at strategic points across the United States. The signs noted the mileage to Bob's Oil Well in Matador. Matador is equidistant from [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] and [[Carlsbad, New Mexico]],  and 9 miles (14&nbsp;km) closer to [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]] than to [[El Paso, Texas|El Paso]]. Robertson soon expanded his operation to include a grocery store, café, and garage. He was also a Matador civic leader who sought to recognize returning veterans from [[World War II]].<ref name=bob/>

Robertson died in 1947, two weeks before a high wind toppled the steel derrick that had been his trademark. His widow, the former Olga Cunningham (1904–1993), restored it in 1949 with even more prominent lights. Ultimately, the business failed, and attempts by others to revive it were short-lived. At the intersection of [[U.S. Route 70 in Texas|U.S. Route 70]] and [[State Highway 70 (Texas)|State Highway 70]], the site serves as a reminder of a time when bold roadside architecture was only beginning, and of a man who promoted his adopted hometown in extraordinary ways.<ref name=bob/>