Biographical/historical information

The Grifton Hotel (also referred to as the Bryan Hotel) served the town of Grifton, NC, during the height of its expansion. Grifton is situated on Contentnea Creek, which is the boundary between Pitt and Lenoir counties, NC, and grew substantially with the construction of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad through the area (1890). Between 1908 and 1913, the hotel appears to have been successively owned and managed by R. L. Johnson, Sarah Hellen, W. H. Kilpatrick, and T. C. Bryan.

Scope and arrangement

The collection is comprised of the hotel's register that contains guests' names, cities of residence, prices paid, and meals eaten during their stays at the hotel. Several names appear regularly. Many of the hotel's guests were traveling salesmen or quail hunters from the northern United States. Among the names listed is William Henry Ragsdale (1855-1914), a faculty member of East Carolina Teachers Training School (1909-1914). Guests' cities of residence include many in Eastern North Carolina, various states, and the nations of Great Britain, Germany, France, and Cuba.

Although information about the hotel's guests is brief, occasional remarks about some visitors appear in the register's margins. Among the more amusing are "Bunch of Crooks," "Lovers," and "Gone" written next to some names. Other humorous but obviously fake entries include "Woodrow Wilson, the White House" and "Jack Johnson, Hades." The collection also contains a grocery list and an agreement between two parties regarding a corn harvest (1913).

Administrative information

Custodial History

January 30, 1992, 1 volume; Guest register (1908-1913) of Grifton (NC) hotel. Gift of Mr. John Elbert Moore, Bath, NC. Received through the courtesy of Stanley Little.

Source of acquisition

Gift of Mr. John Elbert Moore, Stanley Little

Processing information

Processed by K. Rouse, June 1997

Encoded by Apex Data Services

Copyright notice

Literary rights to specific documents are retained by the authors or their descendants in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Metadata Rights Declaration

Key terms

Corporate Names

Grifton Hotel--Registers

Topical

Hotels--North Carolina--Grifton

Places

Lenoir County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century
Pitt County (N.C.)--Social life and customs--20th century

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