Eager for word from loved ones back home, people gathered at the St. Francis Hotel when the mail wagon arrived. The right, upright section of this building was the original limestone St. Francis Hotel, Nicodemus' first stone building along the main street. Civil War cavalry veteran Zachary T. Fletcher and his wife, Jenny, came from Kentucky with the first Nicodemus settlers. Initially they homesteaded a few miles west of town. Then in 1881, hopeful that a railroad line would promote business, Fletcher and his brother Thomas built the hotel. The St. Francis was often full, as lodging for homesteaders and travelers was hard to find. Jenny Fletcher prepared hot meals for hotel guests, ran a millinery shop, and later served as postmaster. Zachary Fletcher was not only the first postmaster in Nicodemus but also the first black postmaster in a non-slave state. He established the St. Francis Hotel and a livery stable, and Jenny was a charter member of the AME Church. By 1880, Nicodemus had a population of almost 500 and boasted a bank, two hotels, three churches, a newspaper, a drug store, and three general stores.