Joseph Heneage Finch, born in 1849, was an English nobleman who left his ancestral home in 1883 after a scandalous divorce. Drawn by cheap land and good hunting, the Earl of Aylesford came to Texas and settled on six sections in Howard County. His generosity and stories of hunts with the Prince of Wales fascinated local cowboys. Known as a lavish host, he once bought a saloon for one day to provide free drinks for friends. After his hunting lodge burned, he purchased the Cosmopolitan Hotel at this site. He died there in 1885 and was buried on his English estate, Packington Hall.