FORT STOCKTON, Texas -- Born in 1858 in New Mexico, Anna Stella Frazier would move soon after the civil war to Fort Stockton, Texas – a place that was the old west. Marrying twice and having ten kids, the now Annie Riggs would find herself widowed with an unusual opportunity.
”We’re in the middle of it. We’re in the middle of El Paso and San Antonio,” said Melba Montoya, director of Historic Fort Stockton.
Movement west left Fort Stockton bustling with activity, and all those travelers, cowboys and business men-needed a place to stay.
”We had the Grey Mule Saloon across the way. We had a Young Store down the road. So, really the hotel was in a great place at that time for settlers to stop in and get their rest, their meals-home cooked meals their water, entertainment. She played the piano, and actually, in one of the parlors she has her original piano she use to play to entertain people,” said Montoya.
Today the hotel pays homage to time gone by with displays depicting the heritage and history of Fort Stockton.
”They’re going to step back in time to where they are going to see old stoves, old irons, old butter churns, a historic hotel room. They’re going to see old clothing, old type writers, everything that is historic is at the Historic Annie Riggs Hotel,” added Montoya.
Including, the legacy of a woman who bought and ran her own business, controlled cowboys and soldiers, and raised ten children on her own.
”She was a pioneer woman known for her home-cooked peach cobbler. She was a very hard-working woman, a mother, a wife and a great asset to Fort Stockton,” Montoya continued. “We remember her today and we remember her always as a strong pioneer woman.”
A woman among men and a pioneer among us all.