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Marathon is a small town 40 miles north of Big Bend National Park in Texas. We stopped on our way out of the park for lunch.
History
Marathon was founded in 1882 by Captain Albion Shepherd, a retired sailor who arrived in the area as a railroad surveyor. The plains reminded him of Marathon, Greece, where he had previously sailed as a ship captain. Alfred Gage (1860-1928), a rancher originally from Vermont, built his ranching empire there, eventually acquiring over 500,000 acres.
Today, Marathon is the perfect place to stop and stock up on your way to Big Bend, or to grab a meal on the way out like we did. There are also a few B&Bs scattered around town.
Other than that, there’s not much going on in town. The downtown is only a couple blocks long. We passed a couple shops and restaurants during our short visit. Most of the places were closed when we walked by.
Gage Hotel
The most interesting place we visited in Marathon was the Gage Hotel. It’s consistently rated one of the top hotels in Texas and seems like it would be an amazing place to stay.
The Gage Hotel was founded by Alfred Gage. He wanted to build the hotel to provide excellent accommodation for visitors to Marathon. After moving to San Antonio, he also needed the hotel to serve as his local residence and office.
Gage hired American architect Henry Trost (1860-1933) to design the hotel in the Mission and Spanish style. It opened in April 1927 and Gage died just a year later.
The hotel continued to operate over the years and was purchased in 1978 by businessman and preservationist JP Bryan. He continually restored the hotel over four decades, bringing it back to life with a truly Western flare.
The Gage Hotel contains 14 unique rooms. It has a spa, pool, and fitness center, and hosts live music and other events. The award-winning 12-Gage Restaurant serves gourmet West Texas cuisine and the White Buffalo Bar is considered one of the best in the state.
Johnny B’s (Permanently Closed)
For lunch, we popped into Johnny B’s since it seemed to be the only place open at the time. This 1950’s-style diner served decent burgers, breakfasts, and ice cream. I had the tacos which were alright, but service was very slow.
