Robstown developed around the traffic generated by the junction of the Texas-Mexican and the St. Louis, Brownsville, & Mexico railroads. In 1914, C.C. Brendle and V.V. Elick purchased land at this site to construct a hotel as close as possible to the railroad station. Completed that same year, Hotel Brendle opened with 36 rooms and became a center of community activity. For many years, it provided space for traveling salesmen to display their goods. C.C. Brendle, a local gin operator, developer, and area farmer who came to Robstown in 1908, was partnered in the hotel by V.V. Elick, who also shared in his gin interests. The hotel left the Brendle family's hands during the Great Depression and was later owned by the Sons of Hermann, a German fraternal organization. Its three-story design features a brick parapet, a red tile roof supported on brackets, and a semi-circular arch over the doorway, and it remains a reminder of Robstown's early commercial growth.