Place

St. Francis Hotel

White two-story building with a screened porch on green lawn with trees in the background — St. Francis Hotel (Fletcher-Switzer Home)
NPS Photo

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The St. Francis Hotel and Fletcher-Switzer Home, the oldest standing building in Nicodemus, represents two of the five pillars that supports the community: business and family.

Brothers Thomas and Zachary Fletcher constructed the original two-story limestone building in 1881, with the first floor containing a living room, dining room, and lean-to kitchen, and the second floor containing two guest rooms. This building replaced a dugout—a home built into the ground, usually on the side of a hill—that had served as a hotel on the same lot.

Operating from 1881 until about the late 1890s, the St. Francis Hotel was extremely successful and the longest-running hotel in town, even as it faced competition from other businesses like the Boles House and Gibson House. The Fletchers proudly advertised their business in local papers and often received glowing reviews of their outstanding hospitality and delicious meals, usually prepared by Jenny Francis Fletcher, wife of Zach Fletcher and the hotel’s namesake.

“We remainded [sic] over Sabbath at the St Francis hotel and found the Landlord and Lady, Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher, very sociable and did every thing in their power to make it pleasant for us. Over thirty took dinner at the St Francis on Saturday besides their regular borders [sic]."

-“Our Trip to Nicodemus” in The Western Cyclone, June 17, 1886

The St. Francis Hotel was just one of several businesses the Fletchers ran on their lots in Nicodemus. To the west of the hotel, on the corner of Washington Avenue and Third Street, Zach Fletcher also ran his general store and the post office, for which he served as postmaster from 1877–1883 and 1884–1886, and Jenny Fletcher served as postmistress from 1889–1894. In that same building, Jenny Fletcher also occasionally ran a millinery (hat shop) and offered hairdressing and dressmaking. To the south of these buildings was Zach and Tom Fletcher’s livery stable that often served St. Francis guests.

In the 1890s, the Fletchers sold several of their lots to former Nicodemus Town Company secretary W. R. Hill, though they continued running the businesses on these lots for a few years. While we are unsure when the St. Francis Hotel and other Fletcher businesses closed, records suggest it was also in the 1890s.

In 1921, Fred Switzer, a grand nephew of Zach Fletcher, bought the old St. Francis Hotel with his wife Ora Switzer. Over the next several decades, the Switzers raised their family here and periodically built additions using old local houses, including an extended dining room, kitchen, and screened porch. Ora Switzer also ran a family-style restaurant out of the residence and lived there until she moved in the mid-1970s. Since then, the building has been un-occupied but is still owned by the Switzer family.

The five pillars of Nicodemus are five core values emphasized to achieve supportive and viable communities. Often, opportunities to experience these values were previously denied African Americans while enslaved and following emancipation: religion (culture of community), self-government (autonomy and decision-making), education (knowledge), family (extended community), and business (entrepreneurs).