Tremont House

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(Look across the street for the former site of this building.)

The first grand hotel in Wichita, Tremont House was physically moved and underwent name changes over the years. It was located here from 1877-1887, about where the parking lot is next to Planet Hair. The owners of the Tremont House were the Fisher sisters. These four sisters leased the Tremont House along with other inheritances such as hotels in Iola and Galveston. They drew up a compact and the sisters promised that none of them would ever marry. This is significant because at the time, a legal convention known as coverture existed, which meant that women lost many or all of their legal rights to property upon marriage as their husband was given the power to control these assets. When one sister was discovered to be secretly married, the sisters went to court. Ultimately, the compact was upheld. In an 1898 article in the Wichita Eagle, the married sister was described as "practically disinherited." The other sisters gave up their lease and left Wichita.