The Antlers Hotel is a hotel and resort built in 1901 by the Austin and Northwestern Railroad on the Colorado River in Kingsland in Llano County in Central Texas. After a brief heyday, The Antlers closed in 1923 and fell into disrepair. It was eventually resurrected by a couple from Austin, Texas, and reopened in 1996.The Victorian structure is the centerpiece of what has become an historic railway district. Other railroad buildings have been added, among them a depot and three brightly painted cabooses setting on actual rails which have also been modified to serve as guest accommodations. The transformation continues whenever additional authenitc old railroad structures are occasionally found, renovated and added to the resort. In 2002, The Antlers was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, Marker No. 15150.History of Kingsland and construction of the hotelIn 1892, the Austin and Northwestern Railroad constructed a bridge across the Colorado River and a depot in Kingsland south of the point where the Colorado River meets the Llano River. The Antlers Hotel was begun in 1900 and opened on May 1, 1901. Framed newspapers hanging around the hotel show events on that date including the cross-country trip by U.S. President William McKinley, who toured Austin by train on May 3, 1901. He was assassinated in Buffalo, New York, a few months later on September 5.
