LaBorde House and Ghosts of History


In 1893, a Frenchman, Francois LaBorde, who had located in the Rio Grande Valley near Fort Ringgold, had successfully made his fortune and wanted a house commensurate with the consummation of the American dream.  He had his expansive house designed in Paris and built a small city block from the busy wharfs and piers of the Rio Grande River.  The house, grand in every Victorian sense, was completed in 1899. 
            The Europeans and Americans who came to the Rio Grande Valley all followed a similar pattern.  They worked hard and married well.  LaBorde was no exception.  He was also typical in that he tried to make sure his children enjoyed a slightly easier path to the American dream than he did via a good education.   His beloved daughter, Blanche, was sent to a Catholic girls’ school in San Antonio.  Despite the dedication of the nuns to, “…the great guiding principles of honor, rectitude, and piety” Blanche met and fell in love with Frank Chapa a scion of the founders of San Antonio.   Blanche was 19 when they eloped.
            About a year later the elder LaBorde died at his beautiful and successful hotel from a gunshot wound to the head.  Suicide was a possibility.  What is certain is that Francois loved Blanche, forgave the elopement and both the family and hotel soldiered on. 
            But time is a cruel taskmaster.  The hotel got older and rougher, Rio Grande City did the same.  But history lovers are a relentless lot.  Show me someone who loves their hometown and I will show you a trench fighter for the past.  By 1982 the LaBorde House had been restored, placed on the National Historic Registry and was housing guests of world renown. 
LaBorde is still open for business as exactly the type of hotel I love. 
I like my hotels old, steeped in history and a little worn around the edges.  As long as they are clean with a soft bed and a hot shower, I don’t care whether the wallpaper curls up a little or not.  If the toilets have an elevated wooden tank with a pull chain I am in love. 
This past week, we joined another couple for a night at the LaBorde House.  We were going to take a trolley tour of historic Rio Grande City the next day and a night at the LaBorde seemed like an additional historical flourish.  Add a great supper at Casa de Adobes Steakhouse and a little late-night wine and conversation in the LaBorde courtyard and my historian’s heart was happy. 
You will notice I have presented an array of facts for your perusal.  I am a fact-driven person.  I was a science teacher with an advanced degree in economics.  I like data the way some people like chocolate.  I am also a creature of habit.  For example, at a hotel I always put my jewelry on my bedside table in a tight little bunch so they don’t get scattered or lost. 
People who are not data-driven like to talk about the ghosts at the LaBorde House.  There are supposed to be several of them.  There are no such things as ghosts.  We didn’t see them.  We didn’t hear them.  We didn’t “feel” their presence.   No surprise.  Ghosts are a figment of over-active imaginations. 
I just wish someone would explain how my jewelry ended up placed in a neat array on that desk.  The earrings on either side of the necklace.  The ring was exactly in the middle.  They necklace was arranged in the shape of a heart.
Keep the faith.   

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