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[The Crazy Well Drinking Pavilion]

Description: This is a picture of the second Crazy Water Well Drinking Pavilion. The original Crazy Well and first Drinking Pavilion are housed in the small building in the middle of the picture immediately in front of the larger second Pavilion. This picture of the wooden structure was taken shortly after its construction in 1900. Notice the dirt roads, and the burros tied at the hitching rail. Burro rides on trails around town, especially up East Mountain, were a very popular form of recreation i… more
Date: unknown

[The Second Crazy Water Well Drinking Pavilion]

Description: The small building seen at the right of this picture was the First Crazy Well Drinking Pavilion. The large structure in the center of the picture is an early view of the second Pavilion, which was built in 1900. This picture was taken before its first two floors were enclosed. The Carlsbad pavilion, which was built around 1895 (across NW 1st Avenue and west of the Crazy) also appears in several pictures of the area around this time. Its absence in this photograph is probably the resul… more
Date: 1900?

[The Crazy Hotel]

Description: This pictures shows the east side of the Crazy Hotel, which opened in 1927, and occupies the entire west side of the 400 block of North Oak Avenue. The Crazy is now [2008] a retirement home. It was forcibly shut down in 2010. Across North Oak Avenue (the main street in the picture) and on the right (east) of the Crazy, is the building (with the Community Aerial Cable Company sign) that once housed Stoker Pontiac. It is now [2008] occupied by Bennett's Office Supply. The Grand Theater… more
Date: April 29, 1975

Crazy Sign Across The 100 Block of Hubbard Street

Description: This picture shows a post-card of the sign. It also represents the original version of the picture of the Crazy Sign. A colorized version, by A. F. Weaver, may be found under the title [Crazy Sign]. It was constructed in 1933 over East Hubbard Street, (later to become part of the Bankhead Highway--later still, US Highway 180) in the center of Mineral Wells. It was quite a landmark as it was one of only two signs allowed by by the Texas Department of Transportation to span a highway maintained… more
Date: 1933?

[The Crazy Water Crystal Factory]

Description: Shown here is an interior view of the Crazy Crystals Plant. "Crazy Water" was evaporated, and the dissolved solids precipitated as crystals which were then packaged and shipped all over the United States, Canada, England and Australia. By dissolving the Crazy Water crystals in water, the purchaser was able to reconstitute "mineral water" and secure the benefits of one of the earliest "instant" beverages without the added cost of the supplying company's shipping water.
Date: 1940?

[The First Crazy Hotel]

Description: This picture shows the front of the first Crazy Hotel, which was destroyed by fire March 15, 1925. Built in two stages and joined together, the first (back) section was built in 1912, and the second (front) section was completed in 1914. A handwritten note on back of photograph states, "Crazy Hotel 1913. Front of Hotel Facing South Mineral Wells, Tx." This picture is included on page 15 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS...", and was probably taken before the second section of the hotel… more
Date: 1913

[A 1949 Mercury]

Description: Illustrated here is a photograph of a 1949 Mercury that was owned by A.F.Weaver, Jr. when he sold Crazy Water Crystals in the Houston and New Orleans areas. Mr. Weaver's father moved to Mineral Wells in the 1930's to manage the Crazy Water Company's operations. Art, Jr. became a salesman for Crazy Water Crystals following World War II.
Date: 1949
Creator: Weaver, A. F.

[Poston's Dry Goods - 1 of 15: Will Poston]

Description: Will Poston is shown standing in the cashier's station of his department store, Poston Dry Goods (located at 107 N. Oak Avenue, Mineral Wells, Texas). Note the conveyor system by which the cashier received cash and statements from various departments, and distributed change and receipts. Central cashiers were common in department stores from the years of the Great Depression through the time of World War II.
Date: 1975
Creator: Weaver, A. F.

[Poston's Dry Goods, 7 of 15: With Display Case, Drawers Open]

Description: Will Poston stands in the sewing department of his store, Poston Dry Goods (located at 107 N. Oak Avenue). The display case is open to show the different types and colors of sewing thread in stock. Colored threads were separated from white for easier selection, and both were available in various brands, spooled quantities and thread sizes.
Date: 1975
Creator: Weaver, A. F.

[The Damron Hotel Fire, 10 of 21]

Description: Another in the extensive series of photographs that covered the spectacular holiday fire that completely consumed the Damron Hotel during the 1975 Christmas season is shown here. This picture shows some of the early response to the fire. Note, for example, the electrical utility truck, which has arrived to cut off electrical power to the buildings. The Damron Hotel (which was built during the days when Mineral Wells was a resort) was originally named the Colonial Hotel. It was located a… more
Date: December 22, 1975

[The Damron Hotel Fire, 8 of 21: An Early Stage of the Fire, Looking North]

Description: This view of the spectacular holiday [Christmas] fire that consumed the Damron Hotel completely on December 22, 1975, was taken from SW 1st Street at the southwest corner of the block in the early stages of the fire. The Damron Hotel was built as the Colonial Hotel in 1906 by J. T. Holt for his second wife. She adamantly refused to live in the country. The name was changed in 1917 when it was traded to Agnew and Bessie Damron. It was located at 109 W. Hubbard. The fire received extensive ph… more
Date: December 22, 1975

[The Damron Hotel Fire, 7 of 21: The Parking Lot Behind the Hotel]

Description: This is yet another view of the spectacular fire that consumed the Damron Hotel during the 1975 Christmas Season. The Damron was originally built as the Colonial Hotel in 1906 by rancher J.T. Holt for his second wife. The name was changed in 1917 when the hotel was traded to Agnew and Bessie Damron. The fire was covered extensively by free-lance photographers. The hotel was formerly located on at 109 W. Hubbard Street, on the corner of the block that included SW 1st Avenue and S… more
Date: December 22, 1975

[The Damron Hotel Fire, 3 of 21: Baker Hotel in Background]

Description: The Damron Hotel (very popular in the resort city of Mineral Wells through the periods of the "Roaring Twenties", The Great Depression and World War II) was originally built as The Colonial Hotel in 1906 by J.T. Holt. Mr. Holt also owned a hardware store at the back of the hotel facing S. Oak Avenue, and a one-room buggy showroom between the hardware store and the hotel. The hotel was traded to Agnew and Bessie Damron around 1917 , and the name was changed to reflect the new ownership.… more
Date: December 22, 1975

[The Damron Hotel Fire, 2 of 21: View South/Southeast ]

Description: The Colonial Hotel was built in 1906 by Mr. J. T. Holt for his second wife. Mr. Holt also owned a hardware store on S. Oak at the back of the hotel. The name of the hotel was changed to The Damron Hotel around 1917 when Mr. Holt traded it to Agnew and Bessie Damron. A hardware store, hard by, was sold to Mr. Holt's manager, John Davidson. The Damron Hotel, located at 109 W. Hubbbard Street, along with Davidson Hardware, burned completely on December 22, 1975. Please note the Christmas… more
Date: December 22, 1975

[Poston's Dry Goods, 15 of 15; Dry Goods case]

Description: A sewing-thread display case, bearing the Corlicelli brand name, inside the Poston Dry Goods store (located at 107 N. Oak Avenue, Mineral Wells, Texas). Poston's was the largest dry goods store in town after the Howard Brothers Department Stores discontinued operations. Many of the display cases in Poston's (perhaps this was one of them) had come from the earlier Howard Brothers' store.
Date: 1975
Creator: Weaver, A. F.

[Poston's Dry Goods, 5 of 15: View of Safe]

Description: Will Poston sits next to the safe in Poston Dry Goods store in 1975. Note the lettering on the safe "Baker, Poston and Co." Also note the many ledger books, which contained the numerous accounts and records required by the store's manual bookkeeping system, around Mr. Poston. Poston's was the largest apparel store in Mineral Wells after the Howard Brothers Department Stores discontinued operations. Many of the glass show cases in Poston's had come from the earlier Howards' store.
Date: 1975
Creator: Weaver, A. F.

[The First Boy Scouts in Mineral Wells, 1902]

Description: A note on back of this photograph states, "1902, 1st Boy Scouts in Mineral Wells, organized by Frank Creighton (L) met in old Sangcura Sprudel Well Pavilion." The picture was taken in front of Green's Transfer Building. This photograph possibly shows the youth division of a local lodge, probably Shriners. Please note that the boys shown in the picture are shouldering real rifles. The uniforms depicted look more like Zouaves (down to the fezzes that the boys are shown wearing) than Boy Scouts,… more
Date: 1902

[A Lion's Club Christmas Project]

Description: A note by A.F. Weaver identifies this group as "Left to right: Lions, Cary Lodal, Moon Mullins, Charlie Johnson, "Santa Claus", Jess Pervine, Noble Glenn." The last four are pictured as sitting on the running board of a General Motors truck, which appears to be loaded with wrapped gifts. (No connection is known or implied, but since the "Santa Claus" in the picture is not identified, an interesting bit of local history is offered by way of suppletion: Rancher Charley Belding, a bachelor livin… more
Date: 1938?

Crazy Paper Box Company

Description: The Crazy Water Company built a plant in 1919 to extract minerals from its water, box the crystals, and sell them nationwide as Crazy Water Crystals. Part of the crystal enterprise included a box factory. Following an action by the Food and Drug Administration in the late 1930's, crystal operations were reduced and the box operation was diversified. A Mr. Breidling bought the machinery to construct boxes in 1940. He remained with the factory when it was sold to Pollock (A subsidiar… more
Date: 1942
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