The historic Dabbs Railroad Hotel is located in the middle of the beautiful Texas Hill Country in the picturesque town of Llano, the deer capital of Texas, originally called the city of crystals, Llano is surrounded by thousands of square miles of granite crystals and is at the center of the largest pre-canbrain era on Earth. European settlers discovered traces of almost every mineral known to man in this ancient valley. Gold, silver, and mass amounts of iron ore created a mineral rush to Llano from all over the world.
This historic region was also the beginning of the Texas Chisolm trail, and the town of Llano had many saloons and stock pens as far as the eye could see. Trail drives left for Kansas daily and, after tracks were laid to this region, cattle shipments grew to five train loads a day by 1929.
Llano, in the late 1800's was also the end of the line for railroad travel. At the turn of the century, a person could ride the rail from San Francisco, New York, or Galveston and travel to the end of the Austin and Northwestern rail line in front of the Dabbs Hotel on the Texas frontier. To go farther West it was necessary to switch over to a stagecoach for the trip into Indian territory, Robert E. Lee, with government troops, took the valley of crystals away from the Comanche Indians in 1856 with the establishment of Fort Mason, just West of Llano. The Dabbs Railroad Hotel is the last of a group of hotels located on the Llano river at the end of the tracks and is the last Victorian railroad hotel left standing.
Famous for being a "home away from home" for railroad men, the hotel also hosted guests who came to experience exquisite restaurants, live theaters, and canoeing on the river, one could also ride out to the Longhorn Caverns and dance the night away in an underground city being used as a ballroom. As well, there are many stories of Bonnie and Clyde using the Dabbs Hotel as a hide-away in the 1930's, and during World War II, the Dabbs Hotel was a favorite recreational destinantion for soldiers stationed at Ford Hood.
Built in 1907, today the Dabbs Hotel has kept its old fashioned charm with an expanded version of its original floor plan and a few added modern amenities such as central air and heat and WI-FI. Surrounding the hotel are shady, terraced lawns with a charming pond and waterfall, plenty of porch space and a great view of the historic Llano County Courthouse across the river, with breathtaking views of the Llano river dam and bridge and easy access to the Llano river for swimming and fishing. The Dabbs Hotel has a central location in the recently restored historic railyard and is within walking distance of several antique malls, downtown Llano, the Llano museum, and several fine restaurants. It is also a short drive to many attractions in the Texas Hill Country such as Enchanted Rock, Longhorn Caverns, serveral fine fishing and boating lakes, and great golf courses.
The Dabbs Railroad Hotel was one of Bonnie and Clyde's favorite hideouts
