The Woodbine Hotel now operates in the historic Victorian structure that was built in 1904 as the Shapira Hotel. The Shapira Hotel is recognized with a state historic marker that sits proudly next to the large front doors to this beautiful hotel. the marker text is as follows:
From the Texas Historical Commission website, a reproduction of the National Register listing narrative: (
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"The Shapira Hotel is a 24 room wooden building constructed about 1904 just off the town square in Madisonville, a rural east Texas town. A provincial reflection of the Queen Anne style, the 7,100 square foot structure resembles a truncated 'H' in plan with two parallel wings oriented east-west, connected by a central wing oriented north-south which houses the lobby and parlor. Brick piers support the balloon framed structure, sheathed in moulded lap siding and surmounted by a full pitch gabled roof with six decoratively shingled gable ends. Exterior walls rise from a wide baseboard and water table, a distinctive horizontal band of jigsawn shingles between stories wraps the building and narrow vertical boards define the corners. The cornice consists of a raking closed soffit with moulded fascia. One chimney and four flues rise above the roofline, each crowned with ornamentally coursed bands of red brick in contrast to the cream colored brick of the stacks. More than 90 double hung windows punctuate the building's facades allowing cross ventilation in the warm climate.
A 40' gallery spans the asymmetrical east facade between two projecting gabled wings, each of which is pierced with uncentered windows vertically aligned in both stories. Jigsawn shingles infill the pedimented gable which is broken by a Small attic window. An octagonal turret topped with a tall bell-shaped roof and finial is engaged on the corner of the southerly wing; a rectangular turret with tetrahedral roof and cresting is attached to the corner of the northerly wing. Both turrets rise three stories with windows in each facet of all three stories. Originally the porch was two story, supported by slender turned and scalloped columns which were infilled with bobbin work spandrels and balustrades of turned spindles. A balustraded flight of stairs at either end ascended the wooden porch which has been replaced by a concrete slab and stairs. Two entrances give access to the interior; the main entrance at the southern end of the facade, consists of two panel doors with beveled glass and transom. Four windows on each floor complete the facade which is surmounted with a large windowless gable flanked by a dormer on each side, all trimmed with decorative shingles.
Three major bays comprise the south facade; the center bay projects forward forming a minor wing topped with a shingled, windowed gable. The octagonal turret anchors the west end of the facade. Originally the east end supported a porch which has been enclosed into a room, and a gallery, now removed. Windows aligned on both stories pierce each bay and a double door with transom that originally gave access to the west end gallery has been converted to windows. The north facade is marked with the squared turret and a slightly projecting bay with a shingled, windowed gable. Double hung windows in singles and pairs pierce the walls.
A large 'U' shaped court enclosed by the three major wings of the hotel dominates the west facade. Facing the court and wrapping around to the west end of the southerly wing is a continuous wooden balustraded porch and gallery, though portions of the balustrade and gallery have been removed. An exterior stairway along the rear wall of the court provides access between porch and gallery onto which doors and windows of the hotel's bedrooms open. The southern wing is terminated with a hipped roof (the only hip on the building) while the northern wing is topped with an unadorned windowed gable.
A rather complex floorplan separates the service areas from the guest rooms and also the public and private areas. The kitchen, ballroom, ancl dining room are housed on the first floor of the south wing with the parlor and stair hall contained in the connecting wing. Both floors of the north wing and the remainder of the second floor are divided into guest rooms. Pine is used throughout the interior with 4" matched flooring on the first floor and 6" on the second floor. Ship-lap walls and ceilings are papered throughout except for the kitchen, halls, and closets which are beaded board. A heavily moulded baseboard is used in the dining room; all other rooms are wainscoted. Moulding with carved corner blocks accentuates doors and windows. The second floor is reached by a prominent staircase which is adorned with large carved newels and turned balusters and ascends the second floor with a full turn and landing. The banister returns at the head of the stairs and wraps the open stair well. Other decorative features include a parlor fireplace with large mantle, moulded brick pilasters and cornice, and turned and fretsawn spandrels which span the entrances to the octagonal turret rooms. Originally the hotel was lighted with piped gas; fixtures are still intact in the third story of the turrets which unlike the rest of the attic, are finished. At least three bathrooms were built in the hotel; several more added in recent times.
Through the years, the hotel has undergone several changes which covered the clapboard siding with asbestos shingles, replaced the wooden shingle roof with composite shingles, and altered the porches. Present owners have begun operations to return the building to its original use as a hotel, restaurant, and social center, restoring it to its original appearance as shown in the photographs.
An unusual example of a nearly vanished class of American public building, the small town hotel, the Shapira was the only facility of its kind in this primarily rural region of east Texas. In addition to providing accommodations for travelers and businessmen, the hotel was the social center of the small ranching and farming community, second only to the courthouse in local significance. Polychromatic bands of shingles, turreted rooms, and broad verandas contributed to the hotel's visual prominence while the elegant suites and public spaces assured its eminence during an era when travel was congenial and visits prolonged. At the time of its completion in 1904, the Shapira was one of the most lavish buildings in the region, attracting drummers, wealthy ranchers, and oilmen with its modern conveniences and gracious service. It functioned continuously as a hotel and integral part of the community until its closing in 1974. The Reconstruction era brought a new wave of displaced settlers into the area and it was at this time that Madisonville began to prosper and emerge as the commercial center for Madison and surrounding counties. During this period Jake and Sarah Shapira, a Russian-Jewish immigrant couple, arrived in Madisonville and established a mercantile business on the town square. Generously hospitable, the Shapiras opened-their-home as a boarding house which soon became popular with the drummers, or traveling salesmen, whose visits became increasingly frequent with the growing population. By the turn the century the Shapiras had achieved personal prosperity, but in 1903 Jake died, leaving Sarah to raise their four children. Soon after, the family home, then known as the Shapira Hotel, burned to the ground. Despite such setbacks, Sarah elected to remain in Madisonville, where the economic future was more optimistic than ever. Cotton production in the county continued to grow, the railroad had been surveyed and was soon to reach Madisonville, and a new First National Bank was under construction just two doors down from the hotel site on North Madison Street.
In 1904 the new Shapira Hotel opened on the site of the original one, providing overnight accommodations for salesmen and travelers and a social center with dining and entertainment facilities for farmers, ranchers, townspeople, and later, oilmen. Though built in the twentieth century, the new structure was a statement of Victorian construction techniques and stylistic ornament. It's balloon frame form incorporated porches, turrets and a multi-gabled roof and utilized turned balusters and slender columns, turned and jig-sawn gingerbread detailing, and horizontal bands of elaborate fish-scale shingling for decorative enhancement. This new visual landmark was run in much the same manner as its predecessor. Guests were treated as family during their stay and Sarah, continuing to display her cooking talents, served meals on a large oak table which seated 26. She was able to raise her children and maintain the family's reputation for excellence until 1922 when the decision was made to move to Crockett where one of her sons had purchased a hotel on the square.
For the next few years the hotel was leased. Sarah Shapira died in 1926 and the hotel was sold to Clara Wills in 1928. In the mid 1930's the structure underwent a major renovation in which porches were altered and the original wood siding was covered with protective shingles. Mrs. Wills continued to operate the hotel as such until 1974 and reside in the building until 1978."
The Shapira also sports a state historic marker whose text is considerably shorter: (
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"Russian-born Jewish immigrants Jake Shapira (d. 1903) and his wife Sarah owned a boarding house at this site which burned in 1903. The following year Sarah had this Victorian hotel built. The structure reflects Eastlake styling and features fishscale and diamond shingling. One of the most lavish buildings in the region, the Shapira Hotel was an early center of business and social activity. It was later operated by Clara Wills as the Wills Hotel. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982"
From the Woodbine Restaurant website: (
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"The Woodbine Hotel and Restaurant: Our History
Built in 1904, The Woodbine Hotel was originally The Shapira Hotel. Jake and Sarah Shapira, Jewish Russian immigrants, came to Madisonville in the 1870's. Jake owned a dry goods store on the Town Square and ran a saloon in a building located behind the store. Relocated to the Woodbine property in 1920, the saloon (now known as the Brimberry House) is the oldest building in the county, circa 1870. Their boarding house, located on the same site as the current hotel, burnt to the ground in 1903. The town had just completed a new courthouse, one of the tallest and most imposing in Texas. The railroad had been surveyed and was being built with the depot behind the Shapira property, and a new bank building was being constructed two doors from the hotel site on N. Madison Street. In addition, the county's cotton productions, untouched by the boll weevil at the time, continued to grow. The Shapira's decided to rebuild. The hotel is a landmark for the area and remains the largest home in the county. It is constructed of two "kit houses" purchased in either in St. Louis or Kansas City probably from Sears & Roebuck. The Eastlake house and the Queen Ann Victorian house face each other joined by an upstairs and downstairs parlor. The hotel originally had 16 rooms and offered accommodations for eight guests. Only the owners' suite had indoor plumbing. Guests used the outhouses and bathhouses located in the back with tub water heated in the kitchen. Eventually, plumbing was added to a few rooms, but many were small rooms. The telephone also came to Madisonville in 1904 and the town's original telephone booth was, and still is, located at the hotel. At the time, it was the only telephone available to the townsfolk.
During the construction of the hotel and on the eve of his daughter's wedding, Jake stepped on a nail and died three weeks later of tetanus. Sarah and her son David finished the construction and operated the hotel until 1922 when they moved to Crockett where her son Maya purchased a hotel on the square. Leased to various operators for a number of years, Clara Wills purchased the hotel in 1929 and changed the name to the Wills Hotel. Clara and her daughter Tommie continued the tradition of serving fine family style meals including fried chicken and chicken fried steak. The hotel underwent a major renovation in the mid-1930's that altered the porches and covered the original wooden walls with protective siding. The Depression, a World War, the abandonment of the rail line to Madisonville and the new focus on interstate travel and motels all led to the demise of the property. They closed to guests in 1974 and moved out in 1978.
Randy and Lynne Parten purchased the hotel in 1979 and completely restored the building to its original condition and function, saving it from demolition. The hotel was a jewel in the rough, which showed after two years of major reconstruction. It now proudly boasts such features as 12,000 hand crafted "fish scale" cedar siding, a standing seam metal roof, restored native virgin yellow pine woodwork and original decorative plinth blocks with bluebonnets above each doorways and windows. Beautiful porches wrap around upstairs and down along the front and back of the building and historically correct wallpaper is in each room. The building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and became a Texas Historic Landmark in 1982.
Randy and Lynne Parten donated the hotel to The Woodbine Foundation in 1997. The Foundation operated the hotel as a nonprofit organization dedicated to charitable, educational and religious organizations.
Susan and Reinhard Warmuth purchased The Woodbine Hotel in October 1999 with plans to return The Woodbine back to its glory days when it was the town's social center and had the finest restaurant in the area. They hope that travelers will again remark, like Norman Kittrel did in 1921: "There is not a hotel in Texas today, barring none, that ever served such meals as were served in that interior hamlet (Madisonville)."
Susan runs the hotel on her own since 2003 and does the cooking at night. She also does all the baking and pastries with wedding cakes as her specialty. Come enjoy the fine cooking for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11 am to 2 pm, dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 6 to 9 pm and Sunday Brunch from 11 am to 2 pm. Great food from hand cut steaks and fresh fish to the best fried chicken and fresh made mashed potatoes in the area!" [end]