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Reported phenomena, as catalogued
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An 1899 French-merchant hotel on the Rio Grande where the owner died of a gunshot wound in 1917, and caretaker accounts place two drowned children and a daughter's fall from the balcony in its courtyard rooms.
601 E Main St, Rio Grande City, TX 78582
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Hotel room rates vary; call for current pricing and reservations.
Access
Limited Access
Historic two-story building with courtyards; stairs to upper floors; uneven surfaces in courtyard areas
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1899 · National Register of Historic Places (1980) · Rio Grande Borderland Architecture · French Colonial Merchant History · Historic Texas Hotel
Francois LaBorde, a French immigrant and merchant who had established himself in Rio Grande City's border commerce, commissioned architectural plans for a residence from Parisian architects in 1893. He purchased two lots on East Main Street in 1896, and the structure was completed in 1899, combining European and Spanish-Mexican architectural influences. A detailed baroque cast-iron gate and a tropical courtyard with a hand-carved lion gargoyle fountain are surviving original features.
In 1917, LaBorde hired San Antonio architect Leo M.J. Dielmann to add a second story to the front buildings, converting the complex into a hotel. The timing proved immediate: LaBorde died that same year from a gunshot wound to the head. Whether the wound was self-inflicted or the result of foul play has never been established.
The hotel served as a stop for river and wagon travelers, cattle ranchers, and military officers through the early and mid-twentieth century. The property fell into decline before the Sheerin family purchased and restored it beginning in 1979. The LaBorde House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 (NRIS 80004149) and reopened as a full-service hotel in April 1982. It now operates sixteen guest rooms.
Sources
Victoria Villarreal Garza, the hotel's caretaker, maintains the oral record of three deaths associated with the property. The first is Francois LaBorde himself, who died in 1917 from a gunshot wound in circumstances that remain unresolved — the caretaker notes plainly that it is unclear whether he killed himself or was shot by someone else.
The second account concerns LaBorde's daughter, who fell in love with a soldier stationed in the area. When the soldier left and never returned, she jumped from an upper balcony. The specific balcony has not been identified in public accounts, and no documentary record has been located to corroborate the account beyond the oral tradition.
The third account involves two children who were playing near the courtyard well and fell in, drowning. The Ringgold Room — named for the adjacent Fort Ringgold, the 1848 military post — is the room most cited by guests who report unusual activity: noises, cold spots, and a sense of presence. Guests in other rooms have reported scents of cigarette smoke and alcohol in spaces where no one has smoked, and scratching sounds on walls. Some guests have checked out before completing their stay.
Notable Entities
Sixteen guest rooms in the restored 1899 LaBorde House, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel markets its haunted history — guests in the Ringgold Room report unusual noises, and some have checked out mid-stay. The courtyard, site of the well where two children allegedly drowned, remains accessible to guests.
See current room rates and availability at La Borde House.
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