The St. James Hotel, Tapestry Collection by Hilton in Selma, Alabama opens January 26, following a $ 5 million renovation. The building on the Alabama River dates back to 1837 and is perhaps the oldest hotel to house a Hilton family member.

The building survived the American Civil War. The city was home to huge Confederate weapon arsenals and ammunition factories, which were destroyed at the Battle of Selma that along with most of the city burned down to the ground. The hotel was spared because it was occupied by Union troops, who had few complaints about their stay.

The previous owners (1997-2017) capitalized on the tradition of the time by calling it one of Alabama's most haunted places. For example, figures from Jesse James' entourage would sometimes be heard in the hallways. The outlaw actually stayed incognito at the hotel in 1881 while visiting a relative of his who lived in the city. The hotel was run by Benjamin Sterling Turner at that time, who was born into slavery but made himself into a successful businessman. During this time, Black Americans in the Southern states were first granted voting rights, and Benjamin S. Turner became the first African American from Alabama in the U.S. Congress. The new St. James Hotel's restaurant has been named 'Sterling'.

The hotel is steps away from the Edmund Pattus Bridge, which is named after a brigadier general of the Confederates, who in another life was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. The bridge is of course best known from the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery and the beating up of peaceful protesters by State and Local law officers, televised live.