Houston home journal. (Perry, Ga.) 1999-2006, September 06, 2003, Image 30
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Tradition
John Lewis and his six siblings have revived a village
of wood and stucco teepees built as an unusual roadside motel by their father mote than 50 years
ago. Sporting 16 overnight units in the shape of North American Indian teepees, the Wigwam
Village offers travelers the opportunity to step back in time and briefly reside in 19505' Ameri
can kitsch along historic Route 66 in Holbrook, Ariz. (pop. 4,917).
Chester Lewis, John's father, found his dream on a summer road trip through Horse Cave, Ky.,
in 1948. Driving along a stretch of Kentucky highway, Chester caught his first glimpse of the
Wigwam Village—a roadside motel.
In the 1940 s and 'sos, family-run, roadside motels were standard fere along many stretches of
American highways. But the Wigwam Village was different. It consisted of 10 individual units con
structed in the shape of traditional Amencan Indian teepees (stnctly speaking, wigwams ate dome-
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John Lewis poses in front of the Wigwam Village units built by his father.
shaped). It was the most unusual roadside motel Chester had ever seen,
and he wanted to open one himself.
"Before my father could build a Wigwam Village back here in Hol
brook, he had to find out who owned the patent for the one in Ken
tucky, and if he could purchase the plans and blueprints for his own
hotel in the Arizona desert," Lewis says.
It was Frank Redford who built that first Wigwam Village in
Horse Cave, back in 1936—and he sold Chester the plans and blue
prints. “My father sat down with Mr. Redford and they hammered out
an agreement in 1948 that allowed my father to use the blueprints and
the Wigwam Village name,” Lewis recalls. "You have to remember
that when they talked, the modem concept of franchise and chain
moteLs wasn’t in existence.”
Months later in 1950, right before the peak of the summer traveling
season, Chester opened his Wigwam Village Motel for road weary trav
elers. It was an instant hit—and the royalty system Chester had agreed
to with Redford, in exchange for using his building plans, kicked in.
It was about dimes—lots of them. Television wasn't com
mon back in the heyday of travel along Route 66.
was the king of American entertainment, and for just one
dime, travelers could enjoy a half-hour of radio programming in
the motel room. M
“Those were the days when dimes were made from silver,” 9Bn
Lewis says. "One of my chores was to empty the dimes out ofM
the radios. And all those dimes went to Mr. Redford. That was Hi
the deal that allowed my father to build the Wigwam Village
Motel on Route 66.”
Chesters dream motel lasted for 24 years—until traffic on Route
66 fell off due to the opening of Interstate 40. Travelers driving down
Route 66 became scarce and, in 1974, Chester was forced to close the
doors to the Wigwam Village Motel.
But the story wasn’t over, for though Chester passed away 12 years
later, his teepee motel stood in mute testimony to his dream, one
strong enough to stand the test of time. In 1988, John and his family
swept away the cobwebs covering that dream and reopened Wigwam
Village, much to the delight of travelers passing through Holbrook.
“There’s something about the idea of sleeping in a teepee that
makes you want to pull right in and get one of those cabins once you
see them," recalls Jennifer Alden, a resident of McLean, Va. “I loved
the experience of staying there.”
So did Michael Jager, who lives in Burgwedel, Germany. On a
recent motorcycle tour of Route 66, he came across and stayed in the
Wigwam Village Motel. “It was the charm of sleeping in the Wigwam
that lured me to it,” Michael says.
With the continued support of its guests and devotion of the Lewis
family, the Wigwam Village—which was listed on the National Reg
ister of Historic Places last year —should provide a respite frit road
weary travelers for years to come.
Joseph Baneth Allen is a freelance writer from Jacksonville, Fla.