The Bissell Hotel
By Brennan Engle
The Bissell Hotel was a Phillipsburg landmark for the better part of a century, located at the corner of Fourth and State streets, where the Subway restaurant is now. It was built by John Bissell from 1888 to 1889. A letter from J.F. Morse, founder and president of the Phillips County Bank (no longer in existence), to Bissell can be found in the archives of the Kansas Historical Society in Topeka. Morse inquires in the letter, dated May 26, 1888, if the local rumor was true, that Bissell was considering building a hotel in Phillipsburg. If so, Morse encouraged him to do so at once, because the town was in need of a substantial hotel to accommodate growing commerce and travel to the community. This had undoubtedly become a need after the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railroad was built through Phillipsburg in 1887.
Moore states in the letter that he estimated local donations toward the hotel project, totaling between $1,000 and $1,500, could likely be obtained. A later document that year proves Morse’s prediction accurate. It lists 24 Phillipsburg businessmen who pledged a total of $1,461 (valued at $49,177 in 2025) toward the project, with the funds being distributed once the trusses for the second story went up. The largest contribution by far was made by John’s brother, William Bissell, who donated $500 (valued at $16,830 in 2025). Obviously, the community was ready to throw its full support behind the first brick hotel built in town.
Construction began in July 1888. It was built at a cost of $20,000 (valued at $673,200 in 2025). Brick manufactured at the Phillipsburg Brickyard was used for the walls. The structure housed 46 guest rooms, some of them doubles. In those days, the hotel had the only meeting place in town. The third floor was used as meeting space for various groups, traveling medicine hucksters, salesmen, politicians, and speakers.
Cuisine was an important part of the Bissell Hotel. It is said that at the turn of the century, the hotel restaurant featured fine tablecloths, beautiful silver, linen napkins, napkin rings, and other items of stylish dining. By the mid-20th century, it was under the management of Bob Audrey Noel, who continued the tradition of excellent food in the hotel’s coffee shop. It is believed that the food and service were a prime factor in influencing L.E. Fischer of Chicago, founder of Kansas-Nebraska Gas, to locate the company’s headquarters in Phillipsburg after his many stops at the hotel while traveling by train. Fischer often said the food served by the Noels was the finest he’d had anywhere. (Note: the building formerly occupied by the Kansas-Nebraska Gas Company is called the Fischer Building today.)
At some point in the early 20th century the hotel’s exterior changed dramatically as the ornate Victorian trim and porticos were removed, and the exterior was given the stucco and paint treatment to protect the integrity of the brick. Much of the town’s civic and social life was centered at the Bissell. Banquets were held there and the Lions and Rotary clubs met there for at least 25 years.
The hotel was closed in July 1974. Then-owner Bob Boeve said the building was structurally sound, but mounting costs for upkeep and damage from a recent windstorm caused him to close for good. In October 1974, the equipment and furnishings were auctioned off. Boeve had the building torn down two years later in August 1976. Taxes on the non-productive property had become a burden. Boeve had purchased the hotel from his parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Boeve, in 1973, and they had owned it since 1958. A local history group wanted to purchase the shuttered hotel, but sufficient funds for the purchase were not raised.