TISHOMINGO, Okla. – On the first day of Chickasaw Annual Meeting & Festival, Murray State College held a ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration for the 1919 Hotel at Historic Chickasaw Hall.
The college opened the boutique hotel for students, faculty, staff, alumni and guests to preview ten of the fourteen rooms, each designed with its own name and unique décor. Originally built in 1919, the hotel features a blend of preserved historic elements and modern amenities.
“The year 1919 represents a moment in the history of Chickasaw Hall. But this building has never really belonged to just one year,” said Dr. Tim Faltyn, Murray State College President. “It has belonged to generations of students. And now it becomes part of the future of this community.”
Chickasaw Hall was built as a dormitory for some of Murray State’s earliest students - Chickasaw and Choctaw men interested in agriculture. In 1939, when the facility operated as a women’s dormitory, Murray State’s student body renamed the structure “Bessie Poe Hall” in honor of a recent alumni who had passed. In 2018, the original name of Chickasaw Hall was reinstated.
Funding partners for the renovation and expansion of the building include the Chickasaw Nation, U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the Lynn Colbert Trust. Murray State was aided by Dr. Steve Mills and his team at the Southern Oklahoma Development Association in managing the federal grants and compliance obligations with the state and federal historic preservation offices.
“Education, innovation and economic growth — the ideals on which Murray State and Chickasaw Hall were built — are all represented in the 1919 Hotel, and with this opening we celebrate new doorways to success, just as Murray State did in 1919, when the doors of Chickasaw Hall first welcomed students,” said Chickasaw Nation Governor Chris Anoatubby. “Thank you to Murray State College for your continued partnership and enduring commitment to preserving our shared history on campus and in the City of Tishomingo.”
The bottom floor of the building will house the Chickasaw Nation’s Recruitment and Retention Program, Chokka Kilimpi`, which will be dedicated to student learning, tutoring, retention, and connection for Chickasaw students. A separate, student-focused event will be held upon its completion.
The 1919 Hotel is not only a public hotel, but a living laboratory for Murray State’s hospitality management program. Students will work in the hotel and learn each component of its operation parallel to their classroom instruction. Scholars participating in the Aggie Works program will also receive a scholarship to cover their tuition. Graduates will be prepared to enter Oklahoma’s $12.8 billion tourism and hospitality industry.
“Projects like the 1919 Hotel can create even more opportunities for students to connect what they are learning in the classroom with real-world work and career experiences,” said Kambria Welch, Murray State College Student Government Association secretary. “When the Chickasaw Nation and Murray State work together, they create something much larger than either one could build alone.”
Reservations to stay are now available at the1919hotel.com/rooms.
“The 1919 Hotel at Historic Chickasaw Hall honors where we have been while creating something that serves where we are going,” Faltyn said. “Our partnership with the Chickasaw Nation reaches back to the earliest days of our institution, and over 118 years later the impact of our work together is creating generational change for our students and communities.”
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Murray State College, located in Ardmore and Tishomingo, Oklahoma, provides opportunities for student learning, personal growth, professional success, and community enhancement. Murray State serves more than 4,000 students annually. The College offers associate degrees in science, arts and applied science, and a Bachelor of Applied Technology in Gunsmithing.