Former hotel houses a museum filled with local artifacts
POTEAU, OKLA. – If hotels had been given rankings in 1922, Hotel Lowrey in Poteau, Okla., would undoubtedly have been a 5-star establishment with its air-cooled rooms and private baths.
Wiley W. Lowery built the three-story structure on what is described as “prime real estate property” between the KSC and Frisco rail lines.
“It was the first hotel constructed in this area with cement beams and brick,” LeFlore County Historical Society Director David Deaton said. “It was also advertised as fire-proof. I would say it was because of the cement beams and concrete roof. Two more floors were planned but never built. It’s 102 years old and really well constructed. There are some crumbling bricks in the back, but it has stood the test of time.”
Lowery initially constructed an “immigration office” in Poteau.
“It was a place for newcomers to the area,” David said. “He outgrew that office and decided to build the hotel and have offices on the bottom floor.”
In addition to Lowery’s offices, the first floor boasted a beauty parlor, café and restaurant. The second and third floors housed the hotel.
The building was constructed in 1822, but David said it did not become a fully operational hotel until about 1932. The hotel offered 28 rooms, with electricity, and public shower rooms for travelers to freshen up in.
The furnishings were from the turn of the century, and the hotel’s interior style was an Art Deco/Mediterranean motif. It was very modern at the time.
The first-floor offices eventually closed, and the Hotel Lowery operated until 1968. The once grand hotel stood abandoned, and the county took possession of it. It wasn’t long, however, before the old hotel got new life.
“Our local junior college, Carl Albert State College, was using it for their dormitory for international students,” David said. “Then some county offices moved into some of the rooms. The main lobby was boarded up, and there was just a wall to the stairs.”
The OSU extension division also took up some rooms and office space for doctors and lawyers.”
In 2008, the county granted a 50-year lease of the Hotel Lowery to the LeFlore County Historical Society.
“They had not really had a home,” David said of the historical society. “We have a wonderful lady, Arlene Lemaster, who worked from the beginning to get the hotel as a museum for a long time. She is instrumental in getting into the museum.”
Since taking over the hotel, the historical society has worked to return it to its glory days, making several updates.
Artifacts were moved from the now-closed Kerr Museum, which housed the Green Country Historical Society, in 2013. By 2014, relics from local history had filled many rooms. In the summer of 2016, the museum started having regular operating hours, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
That same year, the Poteau Alumni Rooms, the Veteran’s Room, and the Presidential Room were dedicated.
“In 1963, President John F. Kennedy dedicated a highway here,” David said. “Local high school kids built the presidential podium he spoke from. We have that podium here in the museum.”
In 2018, rooms were dedicated to Dr. John Montgomery and Senator Robert S. Kerr. A chair lift was added to the second and third floors, allowing all visitors to take in the splendor of the hotel and the museum.
“We have a quilt room, a Choctaw room, the old switchboard that was here in the hotel, and a switchboard that belonged to the Choctaw Nation,” David said. “We also have artifacts from the Spiral Mounds and a local business room with information about those old businesses. We have tried to fill everything we can with local history.”
In addition to the items from the Kerr Museum, the community has donated many items to fill the rooms.
Touring the museum is free, and several former residents have returned to reminisce about their hometown.
“They come in and say, ‘Oh, I remember this,’ all the time,” David said.
David and his group of volunteers change displays periodically.
“We have two revolving display rooms that we try to change every two months,” David said. “We want to keep things fresh and let people come in and see something different. We could do more rooms, but we have more stuff than we have rooms. We have things in storage, which helps us with the revolving rooms.”
David grew up in the area and is glad to be a part of the community’s living history.
“I wish I had been here from the beginning,” he said. “I love getting the word out and telling people we’re here.”
