Miss Molly’s Bed and Breakfast

Posted: 07.25.2024 | Updated: 04.16.2025

Miss Molly’s is anything but a stale bed and breakfast. Its history is riddled with stories as unique as the eight themed private guest rooms. On the outside, the quaint building still sports its Wild West brick facade, complete with a small overhang to lend shade to cowfolk hiding from the harsh Texas sun. But, Miss Molly’s oozes an energy electrified by its raucous and scandalous past. 

Many come for a taste of the Wild West, and stay for a chance to feel a cold chill in the Stockyards National Register Historic District. This haunted hotel in Fort Worth houses a resident spectral cowboy that passes through both body and mind.

Explore the many haunted bed and breakfast’s and haunted hosues that line Dallas’s busy streets on a Dallas ghost tour!

Who Haunts Miss Molly’s?

Workers claim that a cowboy named Jake, along with the strong scent of his cigar, haunts Miss Molly’s. The lodging’s history as a brothel also spawns more colorful characters. The former madam of the house, Miss Josie King, is reported to haunt Miss Molly’s Bed and Breakfast as well. Smallpox victims, like the young girl often spotted by guests, also roam this haunted hotel.

Fort Worth Where The West Began

You must go deeper into Fort Worth’s history, to truly understand a place like Miss Molly’s. Fort Worth was established in 1849 by General William Jenkins Worth. Originally called Camp Worth, it served as a fort for the settlements of east Texas.

The U.S. War Department feared raids from Native Americans present in the surrounding landscapes. They believed that Texas settlers were in constant danger from these angry native tribes. 

However, four years passed without a single threat from local Native American bands. The War Department ordered the fort evacuated. The small military presence departed, but civilians who lived near Camp Worth claimed the now-empty buildings as their own. The former fort had everything needed for a population boom; schools, clinics, and space for stores.

By the turn of the century, Fort Worth grew to one of the largest cattle markets in the United States. Its industry drew in curious travelers and those hoping take advantage of a new settlement. This growth left a space for another industry to flourish, entertainment.

Luckily entertainment in Fort Worth for this new population wasn’t in short supply. Especially in a two-story, brown-yellow brick building know as the Palace Room. What later became Miss Molly’s Bed and Breakfast welcomed weary travelers and promiscuous locals with gusto.

Miss Molly’s For The Cattlemen and The Cowboys

The first story of Miss Molly’s on West Exchange Avenue has housed many different businesses since its construction in 1910. But, the second story has always served a very specific purpose.

At the top of the stairs awaited a series of rooms where cowboys and other travelers could put up their feet up and relax before heading out of Fort Worth.

First known as the Palace Rooms, the accommodations underwent several changes throughout the years. During the prohibition the rooms adopted the name “The Oasis.” Then, in the 1940s, they became the Gayatte Hotel.

The Gayatte may be the most well-known of these various incarnations, and for good reason. Men looking for the company of a woman frequently made use of this bordello.

Though the clientele saw it as a mere stopover, the girls of the brothel spent much of their lives in the building. It became a home, especially under the care of Miss Josie King.

King oversaw the brothel as its madam, becoming essential to its success and history. As much as the bed and breakfast may be named “Miss Molly,” Miss King has a solid claim to its legacy. One, many believe, she’s not willing to let go of so easily.

It’s been more than 75 years since the brothel was in operation, and Miss King still watches over each room, including the Victorian-decorated room that bears her name. 

Bed, Breakfast, and Ghosts at Miss Molly’s

No longer a brothel, Miss King’s former business gave way to a bed and breakfast. The rooms that once welcomed cowboys and their companions now offer a cozy spot for families to come and experience a taste of the Old West.

Visitors of Miss Molly’s can choose between eight distinctive guest rooms, each decorated with old-fashioned charm.

Whether staying amongst the showcase of Wild West paraphernalia in the Rodeo Room or the classic Cattlemen’s Room with its wood furnishings and longhorn hide display piece, you’ll be transported back over 100 years to a time when the paved streets of Fort Worth were nothing but dusty roads.

There’s so much more to the bed and breakfast than can be seen on its surface. Each relic of centuries past is a conduit for those on the other side, allowing the restless souls of cowboys and the dedicated apparitions of the brothel’s hard-working girls to return to this iconic link to the past. 

Floorboards creek, and toilets flush on their own, and there’s been no shortage of disembodied voices and sounds with no known source. From the attentive Miss King to the mysterious cowboy named Jake, many residual hauntings and intelligent spirits roam Miss Molly’s.

All manner of travelers, from the curious to the timid, have spent time in Miss Molly’s. The cold, spectral energy left behind leaves no corner untouched. Plain and simple, Miss Molly’s bed and breakfast is one of the most haunted hotels in Forth Worth.

Haunted Fort Worth

The Stockyards Historic District and places like Miss Molly’s help maintain a 19th-century aesthetic in a modern atmosphere. But, there’s a lot more history nestled in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and much of it comes with a spooky ghost story or frightening apparition.

Book your Dallas ghost tour today and immerse yourself in the haunted history of The Lone Star State. If you find yourself at one of Fort Worth’s most haunted hotels, spending your night amongst the undead why not explore the city for deeper glimpse into the unknown. 

Continue reading our blog for even more Dallas-Fort Worth haunts and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Sources:

• https://fwtx.com/culture/the-beginning-of-the-west
• https://missmollyshotel.com/about/
• https://www.fortwortharchitecture.com/north/missmollys.htm
• https://www.binnews.com/content/2022-09-23-this-texas-hotel-is-one-of-the-most-haunted-in-america
• https://missmollyshotel.com/our-rooms/
• https://tuisnider.com/my-coast-to-coast-am-interview-from-miss-mollys-hotel-fort-worth-texas-haunted-paranormal/