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[The Budweiser Clydesdale Team]
A scene in the 200 block of North Oak, looking towards the south on Oak Avenue, taken in the 1930's is illustrated here. (Shadows indicate the picture was taken in the early morning.) The Budweiser Clydesdale team was introduced to the public in 1933, and is shown here along the 200 block west. The "CRAZY" sign that spanned Hubbard Ave. (now [2016] US Highway 180) a block behind the Clydesdale team was erected in 1933 also, probably later in the same year the picture was taken. A two-story garage/office building, the former Seaman's Pontiac Agency (still standing in 2010) is visible alongside the Anheuser-Busch beer wagon. Other businesses noted are: Dr. M. S. Green, Chiropractor; Kay's Cafe. The prominent building behind the Clydesdale team is still standing at the corner of Hubbard Street and Oak Avenue. Advertising signs are also noted: Texaco, Mobilgas, and a sign on the seaman's building for Crazy Water Crystals.
[A Buffet Table]
A buffet table, presumably in the Baker Hotel, is shown ready for guests (who are absent) to use it. Its opulence would reflect the quality of the hotel. The fact that the photograph is in color suggests that it was taken in the late twentieth century. The exact location of this buffet table is [2014] unknown. An ice sculpture of a sleigh and reindeer suggests a Christmas occasion. Further details are lacking.
[A Buggy in Front of Presbyterian Church]
A copy of this picture is found in A. F. Weaver's, "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells", Second Edition", on page 188. The caption states "Cumberland Presbyterian Church at 901 North Oak Avenue." Note the surrey with the fringe on top. The person in the buggy has been identified as Mrs. Flora Howard, daughter of William Winfield Hayworth "Howard", the minister of the church. Howard owned a hardware store, going under the name "W.W. Howard." He is also listed as a member of the I.O.O.F. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church takes its name from Cumberland Street, Pennsylvania, where the sub-denomination (more Arminian than the main denomination) was founded. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is currently [2014] in Newberry, Texas. The building was sold to the Church of Christ, torn down and rebuilt. The North Oak Church of Christ still stands [in 2011] at this location, 901 N. Oak Ave. The picture is reliably dated to have been taken in 1912.
[A Building at the 500 Block of SW 4th Avenue]
This house, now [2009] located at 510 SW 4th Avenue at the corner of SW 4th Avenue and 5th Street, was a part of the original Mineral Wells College. The large structure was built in 1891 at 101 NW 5th Street. The front half of it was moved to its current location, and turned into a residence around 1902. The intersecting gables (and the hip roof) mark it as Queen Anne, but it may have undergone remodeling since it was built. Please note the two-story wraparound porch, which is rare in all parts of the nation, except for the south. This photograph may be found on page 170 of "Time Was..." by A.F. Weaver. [For more details about the College of Mineral Wells, please see the picture "Mineral Wells School, Texas."]
[A Building Being Demolished]
This building, once the second Post Office, had stood at the corner of 201 SE 1st Avenue and Hubbard Street. This building (as the photograph shows) was subsequently demolished. A Piggly Wiggly grocery store was located on its site. As of March 2, 2009, the place was occupied by the Dollar General Store. This picture may be found in A.F. Weaver's "Time Once was in Mineral Wells" on page 149
[The Building of Camp Wolters]
An automobile--presumably of the late 1930's--is parked by a building in the process of being built. Workmen may be seen at the site. A legend under the original reads: "Buildings seem to literally spring from the earth when the construction of the then Camp Wolters began in November, 1940. The camp was completed in less than four months and became the nation's largest infantry Replacement Training Center. Construction cost was approximately $14,200,000."
[The Building of the Baker Hotel]
Construction of the Baker HOTEL. [sic], which opened on November 22nd,1929 It was the work of Wyatt C. Hendricks, and Company, Architects. The building cost $1.2 million dollars to construct, of which Mineral Wells residents raised $150,000 towards it. It was built on the site of the land that once had held both the Lamar and Star Wells. A legend on the back of the photograph states: "Unknown man looks on. Photograph taken approximately from site of Methodist church, looking towards the southwest." Those interested in more details are referred to Guy Fowler's book, "Crazy Water", or William Gross Jr.'s "Mineral Wells History--A Sampler."
[The Burning of the Crazy Flats]
The "Crazy Flats" drinking pavilion, with rooms for rent, replaced a two-story Crazy Water drinking pavilion in 1909. The first Crazy Hotel was built in 1912, and an annex was added to it in 1914. A fire in the Drug Store of the "Crazy Flats" (SE corner of the Crazy Flats building) on March 15, 1925, destroyed the entire Crazy block. The burned-out site of the Crazy Hotel was bought in 1926 by Carr Collins. A "New", completely rebuilt, Crazy Hotel was promoted as fireproof, since it was built with solid cement walls and ceilings. The former "New Crazy Hotel" had a roof garden (with glassed-in ceiling) for dancing, and colorful past that included a daily radio show originating in its Lobby and broadcast nationally over KTQN (the Texas Quality Network). It had survived the Great Depression of the 'thirties, World War I, the Korean "Police Action", and the Viet Nam War. Those interested in a more detailed story are referred To Guy Fowler's book, "Crazy Water."
[The Burning of the First Crazy Hotel]
The first Crazy Hotel burned in 1925. This photograph shows the fire as it is burning out, and only a few pieces of the structure still stand. The sign seen in the left part of the photo says "Crazy Drug Co." which was the pharmacy inside the hotel. The hotel was rebuilt and claims to be fire-proof.
[A Cabin on the East Mountain Stairs]
Shown here is a photographer's cabin about halfway up East Mountain. A staircase of (reportedly) 1,000 stairs ascend the "Mountain" from Oak Avenue. A cabin was built about halfway up these stairs (visible in the lower right corner of the picture) to provide tourists with photographic souvenir opportunities. This photograph comes from the Knights of Pythias 1925 album.
Cafe Royal
Only a caption on the photograph identifies it as the Cafe Royal. This building that houses it, on the N.W. corner of NW 1st Avenue and 3rd Streets, was known as the W.E. Mayes Building. Upstairs rooms were rented under the name of the "Carlsbad Hotel" in recognition of the nearby Carlsbad Drinking Pavilion at the opposite (or NE) corner of the block: 700 NW 2nd Avenue. (The first edition of "Time Was in Mineral Wells", page 105, identifies it as the Wells Hotel.)
[The Calvary Baptist Church]
The Calvary Baptist Church was originally located at 708 SE 5th Street. This picture was taken in 1975, shortly before the building was torn down and replaced by a more modern facility. Both the red-brick-trimmed native rock church and parsonage suffered substantial structural deterioration, which necessitated replacement. This series of pictures was probably taken for both a pictorial history of the old church, as well as photographic evidence of the deterioration of the structure that warranted its destruction and replacement. The new church, at this same location, now faces SE 6th Avenue.
[The Calvary Baptist Church in 1975]
The Calvary Baptist Church, as it appeared in 1975, is shown here. Note the combined use of native stone and brick and the lack of a peaked roof. The upper part of the windows appear to be stained (or painted) glass. This one of a series of pictures of the church and parsonage, showing structural damage prior to their demolition. This native rock and red brick church faced south on SE 5th Street, and the white brick structure which replaced it is built on the same city block but faces west on SE 6th Avenue.
[The Calvary Baptist Parsonage 1975]
This home was the parsonage for the Calvary Baptist Church in 1975. The home has a rock facade and appears to have a porch on the side of the structure. This is one of a series of pictures of the church and parsonage showing structural damage, prior to their demolition and replacement with more modern structures. The original church faced south on SE 5th Street, and its replacement occupies the same city block but faces west on SE 6th Avenue.
A Camera Trip Through Camp Wolters
Shown here is a booklet of 15 folios, 9 1/4" x 6 1/8", detailing life for the inmates of Camp Wolters. The booklet displays no copyright date, but the illustrations strongly suggest World War II. The booklet is in poor condition, and it is probably perishing from old age.
[Camp Wolters Headquarters; Polio Association]
The caption page is, unfortunately, partially destroyed] Headqu[......](lacuna)[..]lters Camp Wolters, Texas--Major General [............](lacuna), Command[..] (lacuna) Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Wolters, pres.(lacuna) for [deletion] $453 to Irl Prerston, treasurer of the Palo Pinto Co(lacuna) Infantile Paralysis Association, as Capt. Harry P. Sheldon, (lacuna) of the Camp Wolters Officers Mess & William P. Cameron, Pa(lacuna) Infantile Paralysis Association chairman, look on. The c(lacuna) the contribution of Camp Wolters officers to the infantile para[.](lacuna) as the result of a [deletion] President's Birthday Ball held (lacuna) at the officers [sic] mess. The sum [deletion] complements $281 raised by citizens of Mineral Wells at the President's Ball in the city. [signed] Sidney Miller
Carlisle House, Mineral Wells, Texas
The Carlisle House was owned and managed by Mrs. A[lexander] E[mmett] Carlisle, after the death of her husband in 1911. It was one of the largest hotels of its day, boasting sixty rooms. It was destroyed in a fire on July 4, 1914. The Abilene "Reporter" of July 5, 1914 reports that fire began its course at the Tourist Hotel (located, at the time, at 315 NW 4th street). It spread to the New Hazel Hotel (at 305 NW 4th Street), took in the Harrel House, (at 301 NW 4th street), the Lake Charles, Louisiana (511 NW 2nd Street), and the Burk House, 601 NW 3rd Avenue, as well as seven houses that were not hotels. The fire was so thorough that in 1921, the area was still devoid of buildings. It was on this site that Mordecai Ham (he who converted Billy Graham) put up a tent for a revival on March 23, 1927. He accepted the position of pastor at the First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City on June 19, 1927. He remained in that position until June 16, 1929, when he returned to the revival circuit. The Carlisle House was located in the same block as the the Mineral Wells Clinic, which was known to be in existence in 1928. It later became the Nazareth Hospital (q.v.).
The Carlisle House, Mineral Wells Texas
The Carlisle House was once located at 316 NW 3rd Avenue, and NW 4th Street. It filled a quarter of the block, and, with sixty rooms, was one of the largest hotels in Mineral Wells. It owned and managed by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Emmett Carlisle. Mr. Carlisle died in 1911, but his widow continued to manage the hotel. The hotel met its doom in a fire that consumed six hotels and seven dwellings during its rampage. The conflagration was so thorough that the location was still empty in 1921. The Nazareth Hospital as eventually built in this location. The architecture is possibly best described as an eclectic mix of Queen Anne and Prairie styles, the latter perhaps reflecting additions to the original building. [For further details, please see the picture labeled "Carlisle House, Mineral Wells, Texas."]
The Carlsbad of America
Shown here is the battered title page of a pamphlet about Mineral Wells, calling it "The Carlsbad of America." It gives the property valuation (ending in 1905), and the population of the city (also ending in 1905). A colophon at the bottom of the pamphlet remarks "Texas An Empire---A nation within a Nation." The pamphlet reports itself as the work of the Index Printing Company.
Carlsbad Well
This picture, dated September 19, 1907, shows the Carlsbad Well at 415 NW 1st Avenue, and west of the Crazy Well drinking pavilion. It was one of the first drinking pavilions in Mineral Wells, and boasted that the water "Makes a man love HIS [sic] wife, makes a wife love HER [sic] husband/ Robs the divorce court of its business/ Takes the temper out of red-headed people/ Puts ginger into ginks/ and pepper into plodders."
[The Carlsbad Well Building]
The caption of this 1909 photograph that occurs on page 63 of "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells" by A. F. Weaver, notes "...the stained glass windows had not been installed as yet and the "Ben Hur" street car tracks were still running in front of the building." (The Mineral Wells Scenic Railway--the Ben Hur Line to Lake Pinto--ceased operation in 1909, but rails were removed later, probably in conjunction with paving City Streets in 1914.) One of the earlier drinking pavilions, The Carlsbad was located at 415 NW 1st Avenue, directly across the street and west of the Crazy Water drinking pavilion. The Crazy Flats Rooming house--which replaced the Crazy Drinking Pavilion--along with the First Crazy Hotel complex--burned in 1925, and were replaced by the current Crazy Hotel, covering the entire block. The hotel opened in 1927. The Carlsbad building was taken over by the Crazy Hotel in the 1930's, and it was used as a laundry.
[The Carlsbad Well: First Building]
The Carlsbad (also known as the Texas Carlsbad Well), one of the early drinking pavilions in Mineral Wells, was located at 415 NW 1st Avenue, directly across the street and west of the first Crazy Well pavilion. It was openled in 1901 by Lycurgus Smith, one of the people who claimed improvement of his health by drinking the mineral water. . The Carlsbad slogan was: "Makes a man love HIS [sic] wife/ Makes a wife love HER [sic] husband/ Robs the divorce court of its business/ Takes the temper out of red-headed people/ Puts ginger into ginks/ And pepper into plodders." The pavilion was prominent in several pictures around the turn of the century; this picture--labeled "Sept. 19/07" in ink--was from an advertisement by the Yeager Drug Company. This early pavilion had been demolished by 1911, and replaced by a larger brick structure.
Carlsbad Well, Mineral Wells, Texas
The Texas Carlsbad Well, located at 415 NW 1st Avenue (west of the Crazy Water Well and Drinking Pavilion), is shown here. A more modern brick building was added to this wooden pavilion in 1909; both structures are visible in pictures taken during a Woodmen of the World convention in 1911. (Note: The newer Carlsbad building was taken over by the Crazy Hotel for its Laundry and Dry Cleaning when the second Carlsbad Pavilion shut down operations during World War II.)
[The Carlsbad Well: Second Building]
The original Carlsbad water pavilion, a two-story wooden building at 415 NW 1st Avenue (directly across the street and west of the Crazy pavilion) was built in the mid-1890's. This second pavilion, a red-brick building, replaced the original one at the same location. The Mineral Wells Scenic Railway ran its gasoline-powered "Dinky Cars" from 1905 to 1909 each quarter-hour on tracks that led north on N.W. 1st Avenue, and turned west on NW 6th Street. The Ben Hur was the last and largest of the "Dinky Cars". This picture was taken before the stained glass windows were installed in the pavilion, and before the Dinky Car tracks were removed. The pavilion was taken over by the Crazy Hotel for its laundry and dry cleaning in the 1930's after the Carlsbad closed.
[The Carlsbad Well: Second Building]
Shown here is a picture of the second Carlsbad Well building, as it appeared around 1915. The stained (or painted) glass windows are shown installed, and the "Ben Hur" street car tracks have been removed. This picture appears in Weaver, A. F., "TIME WAS ...", 1st Edition, on page 63. The original Carlsbad Pavilion was on the northeast corner of NW 1st Avenue and NW 6th Street, directly across the street west of the Crazy Drinking Pavilion. The Mineral Wells Lakewood Park Scenic Railway provided a gasoline-powered motor car, a "Dinky Car", which provided service every 1/4 hour to Lake Pinto from 1903 to 1909. The "Ben Hur" was the last and largest of the "Dinky Cars" whose tracks, on NW 1st Street, passed the Carlsbad pavilion and turned west on NW 6th Street. The El Paso Morning Times of 1909 reports that the construction of the second Texas Carlsbad building will cost about $40,000. The equivalent sum in modern dollars is not known. The new building was to be "50 x 130 feet. It will be fire proof [sic] and steam heat [sic]." The building was taken over by the Crazy Hotel for the Crazy Laundry and Dry Cleaning after the drinking pavilion was closed in the 1930's.
Casino
A (gambling) Casino at Elmhurst Park was located in southwest Mineral Wells, Texas, at the turn of the twentieth century. The structure was a large stucco building facing Elmhurst Lake (created by a dam on Pollard Creek) in the foreground. The lake was sometimes referred to as "Pollard Lake." Elmhurst Park was served by the Mineral Wells Electric Railroad (Street Car), with whom it seemed to have had a symbiotic relationship; both came into existence about 1903, and both went out of business about 1913.
Casino
This photograph may be found on page 87 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver. He identifies it as "The Casino and Fiddler's Bandstand at Elmhurst Park." The park was southwest of Mineral Wells. Some of the photograph appears to have been re-touched.
[The Casino at Elmhurst Park]
This is a picture of the Casino, which was once located at Elmhurst Park, and illustrated on page 187 of A. F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells", Second Edition, 1988. Note: this is an early photograph, taken during or shortly after its construction. In later pictures, watch towers have been added to the pylons framing the front entrance.
[The Casino at Elmhurst Park - 2 of 3]
The Casino, facing the lake at Elmhurst Park is shown here. For more details about it, please see the other pictures.
[The Casino at Elmhurst Park, 3 of 3]
This photograph shows a view of the Casino and gazebo in Elmhurst Park, Mineral Wells, Texas. The Park was constructed by the Mineral Wells Electric System (which operated a street-car line from 1907 to 1913). The street-car was the primary transportation from downtown Mineral Wells to the park. As America became enamored with the automobile as a personal vehicle, street-car passenger traffic declined, and the street-cars went out of business for lack of passengers. When the street-cars of Mineral Wells shut down, so did Elmhurst Park. The Casino was the center point of Elmhurst Park, and a popular gaming-house until both the Park and Street-Car Line that transported its customers went out of business in 1913. This image was used in a postcard.
[The Casino at Elmhurst Park , 1of 3]
The Casino, facing the lake at Elmhurst Park. For further details, please consult the other pictures in the series.
[A Centennial Booklet of First Baptist Church]
A booklet for the centennial celebration of First Baptist Church of Mineral Wells, October 10, 1982. It includes a service program, lists of staff and committees, an honor roll, a list of deacons, and a history of the church and its pastors.
Central Christian Church
Shown here is Central Christian Church: NW 1st Street. This picture is taken from a collage that illustrates several [Protestant] churches in Mineral Wells.
[A Charter for the Interurban Road and Street Car Line]
The Mineral Wells Electric System operated two electric street cars in the city of Mineral Wells from 1907 to 1913; one on Hubbard Street from NE 17th Avenue to SW 6th Avenue (later part of the Bankhead Highway), and one on Oak Avenue from NE 17th Street to SE 11th Street, thence Southwest to Elmhurst Park. However, two gasoline-powered 70 passenger (all-passenger--no freight) motor cars were operated by the Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railroad (WMW&NW) between Graford, Mineral Wells, Ft. Worth and Dallas from 1912 to 1935. An electric interurban line was apparently the brainchild of a "Major" Beardsley, who had founded the trolley line in Mineral Wells. Although there was great enthusiasm for it (as reported in the 1906 Weatherford paper), the interurban line was never built. The entire project was declared defunct in 1908, with the bankruptcy of "Major" Beardsley, and the sale of his assets. The second part of this notice--the Army-Navy Sanitarium--never received final approval by Congress, either. The source of the notice remains [2017] unknown.
[The Chautauqua Hall]
This picture shows a side view of the Chautauqua Hall, once located on the side of Welcome Mountain, where the Jaycee Youth Center is now [2010] located (behind the Grand Theater.) It was taken, perhaps,in late spring or early summer--possibly in the morning. The photograph is featured in "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells..." on page 50. The building departed existence in 1912, after only about seven years of service. The Chautauqua movement began in 1874 in an eponymous town in New York (it is still there). It was conceived as a form of adult education, which featured a set of touring lectures. Before the advent of moving pictures and the radio, Chautauqua was immensely popular. For example, William Jennings Bryan (he of the famous "Cross of Gold" speech)--and other people--gave various lectures and orations at this Chautauqua hall. H.L. Mencken ("Prejudices:First Series", published in 1919) speaks disparagingly of "...oafish, witless buffoonishness [sic] of the chautauquas [sic] and the floor of Congress...." Mr. Mencken, though, had a reputation for disparaging everything (that was American) in his sight. This remark seems to be his only direct comment on the movement. He makes reference to Chautauqua only tangentially otherwise. One might surmise, therefore, that television (which supplanted Chautauqua) followed a parallel route in its later years.
[Children With Bicycle and Hoop,]
Dated "Jan 10, 1919", this picture was contained in an envelope postmarked "Aug. 4 '75", and addressed to A. F. Weaver Photography from Charles W. [Windell] Simonds. Handwriting on the envelope indicates it was from a short-wave "Ham' radio operator correspondent and friend of Mr. Weaver. Notes on the envelope indicate the picture was probably taken by the correspondent's father, Clarence Winfield Simonds. The sign on the tree at the left edge of the picture indicates this was the Vance Villa (Rooming House) in a residential part of town. (Vance Villa is listed in the 1914 City Director of Mineral Wells at 811 N. College, which is now NW 5th Avenue.) Note the hoop held by the child on the left, while the boy on the right appears to be holding a unicycle--or, perhaps, an early bicycle whose rear wheel is not visible..
[The Christmas Rush With the First Airmail]
The sorting room of the "old post office" at Christmas time is ilustrated here. Airmail had just arrived in Mineral Wells. The caption "1916" is written in the top margin of photograph. Air Mail arrived in Mineral Wells in two distinct eras. The first was from the 1916 date on this photograph to about the beginning of World War II. The mail route of that era was marked by rotating signal beacons for night flight, and low frequency radio directional beams with "A" (dot-dash) and "N" (dash-dot) Morse Code signals to indicate straying, right or left, from the true course between landing fields during flight operations. These deliveries were suspended during World War II, and improved service was resumed for a period of time a few years after the war. At one time during the 1950's-1960's, Trans Texas Airways operated from Shreveport,Louisiana. to El Paso, Texas It made scheduled daily stops in Mineral Wells for both passengers and mail.
City Meat Market
The City Meat Market was located south of the Oxford Hotel. It faced SE 1st Street, where the entrance to the First National (Bank?) was located. Please observe the horse-drawn wagon at the right of the photograph. Modern [2016] viewers might be appalled at the sight of sides of meat hanging in the open air; but when this photograph was taken, it was standard procedure. The gentleman holding the carcasses of poultry probably does so only for the sake of the picture. The clean aprons of all the men associated with the store were probably also donned only for the picture. Otherwise, they would be heavily blood-stained. This building later housed Roger's Army Store. Information about it was taken from A. F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells", second edition, page 121.
[The City Nestled Among the Hills]
This picture was taken from East Mountain, from a site above and left (south) of the former Chautauqua (1905-1912.) Note the Crazy Water Hotel at the left edge of the picture (which opened in 1927 on the corner of North Oak and NW 3rd Streets.) Note also the Nazareth Hospital built by the Crazy Corporation, behind and right of the Crazy. The back of the "WELCOME" (1921 vintage) sign on the south end of this mountain and facing south, is at the immediate middle foreground. This sign was the world's largest non-commercial electric lighted sign when it was donated to the city in 1922 following a Rotary Club of Texas convention. The sign is reputed by local folklore to be the inspiration for the more publicized "HOLLYWOOD" sign in Los Angeles, California. It is much larger than the photograph suggests. Lesser known sites in the picture are The Hawthorn Drinking Pavilion one block north (right) of Nazareth Hospital and the Crazy Theater, across Oak Avenue, at the right and front of the Crazy.
[The Clark Residence on N W 4th Ave.]
The W. V. Clark residence on NW 4th Avenue (which was originally called Pecan Street) is shown here. This photograph was taken in June of 1974. A photograph on page 139 of "TIME WAS..." by A. F. Weaver shows the house to better advantage before foliage of the trees obscured part of it. It is presently [2016] in sad condition, and in need of remodeling.
Cliff Home
The Cliff Home, an early Mineral Wells hotel, stood on Northeast 2nd Street (formerly Coke Street) just east of the head of NE 1st Avenue (formerly Mesquite Street), and the site of the 1912 "Old Post Office" (now the Women's Club.) The hotel burned down in 1899, and the Plateau Hotel was built in its place. That hotel, in time, became The Exchange Hotel, which lasted until 1900, at which time it was demolished, and the Plateau Hotel was built in its place. It was touted as the only brick hotel in Mineral Wells in 1902. The Sanborn Map of 1907 gives the address as "207 E Coke", but the city Directory of 1909 lists the hotel as being at "211 E Coke." No building was listed in the City Directory in that block for the year 1920, save the Post Office. A street was added to the east of the Post Office between it and the Hotel Wilson(of which no further information at this time [2017] is available)/Mineral Wells Sanitarium (the building must have housed a hospital/clinic, as well), which was operated by a Doctor Buie. In 1924, the hotel was listed as being at 209 NE 2nd Street, and the sanitarium at 211 NE 2nd street. No listing for the sanitarium is given in the 1937 City Directory. The significance of the small "E" between "CLIFF" and "HOME" on the sign painted on the roof is not as yet [2017] known. The back of the photograph bears the name "Henry Sikes" (a banker in Graford, and probably the donor of the picture) written in ink, and a business stamp, "S.B. Hall, General Photographer." This picture is found on page 100 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells".
[ A Close-up of Calvary Baptist Parsonage]
This home was the parsonage of Calvary Baptist Church in 1975, according to a note on back of the picture. Note the brick crosses worked into the stone-work above the front door and on the chimney. The picture also shows some structural cracks in the native sandstone rockery above the entrance and window, probably indicating foundation damage. There are also some weathered holes in the structurally-sound, but odd, limestone rocks used in construction.
Co-Operative Market
This photograph appears in A.F. Weaver's book, "Time Was...", second Edition, on page 189. The Co-operative Market was located on the lot in the 200 block of S. Oak Street, where the present [2010] Fire and Police Departments are located. The sign indicates that women and girls were the market's anticipated customers. The street is paved and curbed, so the photograph was taken sometime after city streets were paved in 1914. The facade of a building behind the CO-OP sign bears a "City Feed Market" - "Hay, Oats, Corn . . ." legend. Note the contemporary automobiles in the foreground. The one on the left (edge of picture) appears to be a WHIPPET touring car.
[Col. and Mrs. W. Riess (W. R.) Austin]
Colonel and Mrs. W. Riess (W. R.) Austin are depicted here, from an image taken from a 1902 photograph. Colonel Austin is mentioned on page 54 of "Time Was..." second edition. A. F. Weaver says, "...the Austin Well, established by Col. W. R. Austin, who came from Kentucky to Palo Pinto County about 1880. Austin settled on Staggs Prairie, where he farmed and ranched. Then he became interested in mineral waters when he had an eye infection that affected his sight. So he moved to Mineral Wells, and the constant use of the waters restored his sight. He engaged in the dairy business, at first; but later entered the mineral water production field, establishing the Austin Well, which was later operated by his son-in-law, Tom Sims."
[Cole's House of Flowers]
Cole's House of Flowers was built on this location in 1980, after a fire had destroyed the Davidson Hardware and the Damron Hotel buildings in 1975.
[The Colonel Boykin Home - 1301 SE 4th Avenue]
The Colonel Boykin Home, at 1301 SE 4th Avenue, Mineral Wells, Texas appears to show neo-classical elements, along with evidence of later remodeling. This home was built in 1905 by Colonel Walter H. Boykin, owner of the Fairfield Inn. It was later purchased by William Whipple Johnson who, with his brother, Harvey, originally developed the coal mines in Thurber, Texas. Johnson opened the Rock Creek Mine in far western Parker County (after selling the mines at Thurber) and lived in this home while he operated it. The Will Smith family owned the house during the 1930's The house was converted to a rooming house during World War II, and abandoned in later years. The abandoned house was bought in 1975 by Morris Wayne Garrett and his wife, Darlene. They salvaged artifacts from several historical buildings in Mineral Wells that were in the process of being demolished: A beveled-glass door from the old Miller Hotel, large claw-footed bathtubs from the Jerome Hotel, French doors and tall windows from the old Firemen's club at Lake Mineral Wells, and baluster rails which were once part of the Hexagon Hotel. Such were their efforts to restore the home to its former grandeur.
Colonial Hotel
The Colonial Hotel at 115 W. Hubbard Street was built by rancher J.T. Holt for his second wife, who would not live in the country, despite the fact that he had bought a ranch (near Mineral wells) of five thousand acres about the year 1900. The hotel was traded to Agnew and Bessie Damron for a ranch about 1917, and its name was changed to The Damron Hotel. The popular hotel burned down December 22, 1975 along with several other adjoining businesses.
The Commercial Hotel
The Commercial Hotel, one of the early hotels in Mineral Wells, was located on South Oak Avenue, where the Mineral Wells Fire Department is now [2014] located. The Cutter Guide of 1893 states that the hotel was recently completed. It is listed as being "[T]wo blocks from the depot [and] 1 block [away] from the post-office [sic]." This picture may be found on page 101 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells."
Company 1, 4th Texas Infantry
Typed under this picture is the legend: "FIFTY YEARS AGO -- Co. 1, 4th Texas Infantry, was patrolling the Mexican Border. The company's home base was in Mineral Wells. Later it was called into federal service and designated as Co. 144th Infantry, 36th Division, with combat duty in France on the Meuse-Argonne Campaign and the Argonne Forest. In the picture is the company pet donkey, about to consume a copy of the Daily Index, on the left is Bill Cameron and right is Spencer Heath. The picture was made in Marathon, Texas in 1916." Bill Cameron was employed in various capacities by the "Mineral Wells Index" newspaper for many years. At the time of his death, 1976, he was its business manager. The image of the donkey chewing on the copy of the "Index" is a favorite picture shown in the "Index" to this day [2013]. It remains the subject of raucous humor in Mineral Wells.
[Confiscated Whiskey Stills]
Nick Chandler & Gib Abernathy, officials of the government, have detected (and presumably are about to destroy) illegal whiskey distilling apparatus confiscated during the Great Depression of the 1930's, when Prohibition was regnant. The lack of a "Thumper" barrel between the distilling apparatus and the worm suggests that these "Stills" were probably amateur operations. Abernathy was the Palo Pinto County Sheriff at the time, and also the father of Bill Ray Abernathy.
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