Oldest motel in Texas up for sale in Rockdale

ROCKDALE, Texas - Rainbow Courts in Rockdale is considered the oldest motel in Texas, a historic landmark where travelers have been checking in since 1918. 

Now, Rainbow Courts is for sale and owners Joan and Dan Ratliff are checking out.

"We've worked all of our lives. I personally have been working for 63 years," said Dan Ratliff. "There's got to be more to life than working 24 over 7." 

Monroe Bullock, Joan’s great uncle, built the motor court. At the time, World War I was coming to an end, William Hobby was the governor of Texas, and $400 bought a motor car to travel on an unpaved Highway 79 to what Bullock described as an "oasis" for tourists.

"Everyone that's owned this business, including my parents, my grandparents, my grandfather's brother, I think they've had a passion," said Joan Ratliff.   

That's also a requirement for the new owner.

"I want someone that will care as much as, at least almost as much, as I do about the history of this place and about the customers that we have and will continue to have, I think, for years. And I think we'll find that," said Joan.

They are open to an offer from a corporate chain, but say it has to be run the way they run it.  

"We don't want the bulldozer to come. We don't want a typical hotelier to come in and change it to another motel," said Dan.

The gravel drive is a trip to a slower time, when brass keys unlocked doors to small but comfortable rooms, many filled with antiques.

"I think one of my favorites is the Garden Room. When we bought the business, it didn't even have a roof. And it was just walls. The windows weren't there. It was just a hot mess. My parents used to store plants to winterize plants," said Joan.  

The Garden Room is actually a live-in suite. The remodel included a modern convenience from the early 20th century: a 1929 GE Monitor refrigerator that still works. 

Over the years. Rainbow Courts has certainly had some notable visitors.

"Tennessee Williams stayed here in the 1940s. His cottage is right back here. It's the Tennessee Williams cottage. Bob Wills was down there at the end and a couple and a little cottage. It's called the Bob Wills Cottage," said Dan.

Stray cats are now among the regulars. So many are on site that they are even on the brochure.

"A veterinarian said that there's a neon sign that we can't see that says they feed. Well, they feed well," said Joan.

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Curiosity got Mark Zotti to check in. He is a subcontractor working on a local project.

"I drove by it for months, and you can just see some of the sort of lighting. And it looked like an interesting place. And until I actually came in and saw for myself, I didn't realize what a cool place it really was," said Zotti.

On the backside of the lot is a cabin that may have one of the most unique backstories. It was once a local school.

"My grandfather grew up in an area of Talbot Ridge that was about five miles from here. And he went to school in this schoolhouse out in the country. And when they didn't need it any longer, when ISD came along in the 40s, I think he was sentimental about the building. He bought it," said Joan.

Times certainly have changed, and so too will the ownership. This little highway oasis is listed for $3.2 million. 

"It's always going to be in my heart and part of my family history, so I don't really feel like I'm walking away from it," said Joan.

The Ratliff’s say they also want their current staff to stay and work for the new owner. It’s a condition of sale they believe will keep Rainbow Courts up to the standards they built.