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Aerial View of Camp Wolters
The only information about this photograph appears to be the written legends on it: [At its top] MW-4 AERIAL VIEW OF CAMP WOLTERS, TEXAS [At its bottom] PHOTO BY AERIAL PHOTO SERVICE KALAMAZOO--DALLAS 1B-H586 Camp Wolters was the predecessor of Fort Wolters in Mineral Wells.
[An Aerial View of Cantex and Mineral Wells From the East, 1967]
An aerial view of Mineral Wells, taken from the east and south of Hubbard Street, April 29, 1967 is shown here. Note the Baker Hotel in the upper right corner of the picture. The Cantex Manufacturing Company is in foreground. Once a part of Texas-Vit (vitreous clay products), it is now producing PVC plastic products. The railroad right-of-way shows as a dark corridor to the right and above Cantex in the picture. The street at the far right of the picture is East Hubbard Street, and one block left of it is SE 1st Street (together forming U. S. Highway 180, providing one-way traffic, both west and east, through downtown Mineral Wells.)
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells]
This picture shows an aerial view of Mineral Wells from the east-southeast looking northwest. The Baker Hotel is the dominant building in the middle left of the picture. The Crazy Hotel is seen two blocks north (right) and one block west of the Baker. Immediately in front of the Baker is the hotel swimming pool (the second hotel to have its own pool). To the right (north) of the pool is the First Methodist Church.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells]
A panoramic view of Mineral Wells looking southwest from East Mountain, Poston's Dry Goods store may be seen in the middle left of the picture, and the Old High School, Rock Schoolhouse, and West Ward School are visible next to West Mountain skyline in the upper right corner of the picture.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells (1 of 2)]
A view from West Mountain looking ESE, contains the following landmarks: The Hexagon Hotel (1895-1959) in the upper middle of the picture, and the Chautauqua (1905-1912) in the upper right. One block right (south) and one block this side (west) of the Chautauqua is Crazy Flats Drinking Pavilion (burned in 1925). The Sangura- Sprudel Well and Drinking Pavilion is below and left (one block north and one block west) of The Hexagon. The Fairfield Inn is one block plus north and east (left) of the Hexagon and about half way up East Mountain. The Vichy Well (Later known as The Beach and still later as the Standard Well) is on the right, and across the street from the Hexagon. It was later the location of the USO building in World War II, and is now [2006] the North Oak Community Center.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells (2 of 2)]
This aerial photograph is adjacent to, and south of, the previous photograph. It is taken from South Mountain, looking east-south-east. The Chautauqua is on the upper left of the picture. The Crazy Flats Drinking Pavilion (which burned March 15, 1925) is below and to the right of the Chautauqua. The area in foreground is a residential area of west Mineral Wells, Texas.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East 1967]
This photograph is an aerial view of Mineral Wells from the east-northeast. It was taken April 29, 1967. Please note the Brazos Mall and Brazos Villa Apts (Later Spanish Trace apartments) across the street from it at the upper left edge of the picture. The large building at the lower left corner of the picture is the Sands motel. The large vacant area was later developed when the Lakewell House Retirement Home was built near the middle of it.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East, 1967]
This photograph illustrates an aerial view of Mineral Wells, taken April 29, 1967, from the ENE looking slightly toward the WSW. Please note the Brazos Mall and Spanish Trace Apartments.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East, 1967]
This aerial view of Mineral Wells was taken April 29, 1967 from the East looking slightly West. Please note the Brazos Villa Apartments and the back of Brazos Mall.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East, 1967]
A view of the businesses and residences north of East State Highway 180, looking west toward the Baker Hotel in the background. Note the Spanish Trace Apartments and the Brazos Mall.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East-northeast 1967]
This aerial view of Mineral Wells from the east-northeast was taken April 29, 1967, near the convergence of E. Hubbard and SE 1st Street(that together comprise US Highway 180-a one-way street through downtown Mineral Wells). Note the Brazos Mall and Spanish Trace Apartments at the upper left of the picture, and the Baker Hotel in the background at the extreme upper right corner of the picture. The buildings in the lower left corner of the picture are motels. The large vacant area in the picture was later developed when the Lakewell House Retirement Home was built near the middle of it.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East-northeast, 1967]
This aerial view of Mineral Wells, from the ENE, was taken April 29, 1967. Note the Spanish Trace Apartments building at the middle-left of the picture. It lies across the street behind the Brazos Mall (off the picture, left of Spanish Trail Apartments).
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East-northeast, 1967]
This aerial View of Mineral Wells looking SW was taken on April 29, 1967. Please note the Brazos Mall and the Spanish Trace Apartments.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the East-northeast, 1967]
This aerial view of Mineral Wells, from ENE looking WSW, was taken April 29, 1967. Please note the Brazos Mall and Spanish Trace Apartments building across the street from it in the upper middle of the picture. ANTENNA PRODUCTS is at the left edge of the picture. CANTEX (PVC products) is above and left of the Brazos Mall. The Mesa Motel and Sands Motel are at the lower left corner. The large Vacant area was latter developed when the Lakewell House Retirement Home was built near the middle of it,
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the Northwest, 1967]
This photograph illustrates an aerial view of Mineral Wells from the northwest. Note the Baker Hotel in the middle of the top half of the picture. The Crazy Water Hotel is below the Baker (two blocks in front). The Box Factory is the white many-storied building a few blocks below The Crazy and near the center of the picture. The Nazareth Hospital is a block to the right of The Crazy. The Mineral Wells Box Factory (Formerly the Crazy Water Crystals plant) is about two blocks this side (below) the Crazy Hotel and Convention Hall is a block to its left. The photograph was taken April 29, 1967.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the South-Southeast, 1967]
This photograph shows an aerial view that was taken April 29, 1967. Please note the Baker Hotel in the middle of the upper half of the picture, The Crazy Hotel is two blocks right (north and west) of The Baker. East Mountain is to the right of The Baker and "The Cove" (housing area)lies between it and Bald Mountain.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the Southeast, 1967]
An aerial photograph that was taken April 29, 1967 of Mineral Wells looks northwest. Notable landmarks are the Baker Hotel (in the middle of the picture), United First Methodist Church (a block east and to the right of the Baker), the Crazy Water Hotel (above the church), the Box Factory two-three blocks right of The Crazy, the Old High School (the three-story structure about six blocks left (west) of the Baker at the edge of the populated area), and the Old Rock School House (right and adjacent to) the Old High School.
[An Aerial View of Mineral Wells From the Southwest]
An aerial view of Mineral Wells from the southwest is shown here. It starts about SW 4th Avenue. The photograph was taken before 1967, the year the present First Baptist Church (which is not visible on lower left of the photograph) was completed.
[An Aerial View of Northwest Mineral Wells]
An aerial view of northwest Mineral Wells that was taken between 1959 and 1969 is shown here. The Hexagon Hotel on North Oak Street can be seen in the center left foreground with the Convention Center immediately north (to the right)of it, and the Crazy Water Crystal plant two blocks northwest.
[An Aerial View of Residential Areas]
An aerial view of residential area in Mineral Wells is shown here. The exact locale of the photograph is unclear.
[Another View of Mineral Wells]
This picture shows several different styles of house prominent in Mineral Wells, ranging from Colonial Revival (center) Queen Anne (upper tier, right), to Classical Revival (Upper tier, center). The Convention Hall is barely visible in the lower left corner, so the picture clearly antedates its demolition.
[The Arlington Hotel]
The Arlington Hotel--the largest hotel in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas--with its famous thermal baths, is shown here. It is under the regulation of the United States Government. There is a beautiful "Cascade" swimming pool for guests. This picture is taken from a POST CARD titled "Plastichrome [Registered] by COLOUR PICTURES, INC. Boston, 10, Massachusetts U.S.A." The builder of the Baker Hotel spent time here. He was so impressed with the hotel that he modeled the one in Mineral Wells upon this as an archetype.
[The Austin Well]
This photograph shows the Austin Well as it was in 1974. A legend on the back of photograph reads: "Looking south shows remains of Austin Well in the foreground with the remains of what used to be the crystal plant. Across the street may be seen the St Regis box plant." The former Crazy Water Crystal plant, at the left edge of the picture, is now [2009] the St. Regis box factory This well is associated with a unique and romantic history: It was dug by a Mr. Austin, who claimed to have "Sore eyes", so that he had difficulty riding a horse. The horse, however, faithfully led him to a well where Mr. Austin soothed his eyes. He saw improvement after six weeks; and moved to Mineral Wells, where he drilled a well of his own. A cowboy rode a blind mare into Mineral Wells and auctioned her off for a dollar and a half. Mr. Austin acquired the horse, and put her to work drawing water from the well by turning a wheel to which was attached a rope, which with each revolution of the wheel, pulled a bucket of water from the well to ground level. Nellie was trained to pause at a point in her circular route long enough for the bucket to be emptied, then continue on to pull up the next bucket when it was filled. Blind Nellie was retired in her old age, but continued to walk a similar circular route in the pasture to which she was retired, pausing in each revolution, as before, until her death in 1912. Texas Packaging Company, Incorporated, has occupied the box plant since 1980.
[The Baker Hotel: A Picture Taken From the South Window of the Hexagon Hotel]
A note with this photograph states: "Photo taken out of top floor south window of Hexagon Hotel. Photo re-printed in 1977. Photo probably taken 1954 due to penciled in date on back." (Also, the building in the lower left corner of the picture still bears the "USO" sign of World War II.) See also "Hexagon Hotel" [with history]. In front of the Baker Hotel stands the "Old" Post Office, now the Ladies Garden Club Building. The Crazy Hotel can be seen between the right edge of the picture and the spire attached atop one of the gables of the Hexagon Hotel.
[The Baker Hotel and the First Methodist Church]
This picture, showing Baker Hotel and the First Methodist Church, was taken approximately in 1938. The church, pictured here, shows a later second story to the building on the side of the church proper. It is known to be the second Methodist church on the site. Older photographs of its predecessor are at this time [2014] lacking.
[The Baker Hotel at Night]
This picture shows the Baker--in its great days--at night. According to William O. Gross, Jr. ("Mineral wells, Texas: A Sampler, 1997) the hotel is properly named "Hotel Mineral Wells", the name "Baker" refers to the Baker Hotel Corporation of San Antonio, Texas, which operated nine hotels at the time. Legend has it that a female guest jumped to her death. Her ghost is supposed to be resident in the building, but substantial evidence for the existence of the ghost remains to this date [2014] lacking. A legend on the front of the photograph states that it was colorized by A. F. Weaver in 1940.
[Baker Hotel Grounds' View]
Here is a view of Baker Hotel from across its grounds. The style of the hotel is Spanish Colonial Revival, which William Gross, Jr. states in his book "Mineral Wells History: A Sampler" was a favorite of Mr. T. B.Baker. Note: There are umbrellas around swimming pool, but the swimming pool itself is out of view. Foliage includes Canna flowers and cedar trees. An unidentified woman and child are in foreground. The Baker Hotel had an ill-starred opening, as it occurred only weeks after the infamous stock market crash of 1929. The marketing of Crazy Crystals had been blamed for the distress, because fewer people needed to make the trek to Mineral Wells for the waters. They could produce the same thing in their own homes. However, no proof of that assertion has been found, and the general malaise of the Great Depression probably should be blamed. The owners of the Baker Hotel filed for bankruptcy In 1932. On April 30, 1963, Earl Baker formally closed the hotel. The property went under the hammer that August. The rest is history.
[The Baker Hotel Roof Garden]
This photograph is identified as "Baker Hotel Roof Garden February 1999." Two chandeliers are still in place on the ceiling, but the missing floor boards, the peeling paint, and the deserted condition of the room are indicative of the present sad condition of a once beautiful ballroom. A ballroom on the twelfth floor was titled "The Cloud Room" by virtue of the clouds painted on its ceiling. A picture of it has yet [2014] to be found.
Baker Hotel Swimming Pool
No Description Available.
[Bank of Mineral Wells]
This picture shows the interior of the Bank of Mineral Wells. Collie Smith, L.E. Hamen, and someone named only "O'Neal" are shown in the cages. Please note the cuspidors and the potted plants. The bank went out of business in 1924. The building was then used by Ball Drugs, and then by Massengale's Appliances. The building was eventually torn down, to make room for a parking lot in the downtown area. It is featured in "Time was in Mineral Wells" on page 148.
[A Baseball Team]
This picture shows a men's baseball team in Mineral Wells, but the identification of both the team and the men are unknown. Ike Zablosky (sometimes spelled Zabronski), a Russian immigrant, arrived in America in 1906. He entered the fur-trading business in Mineral Wells, and is credited with naming the Possum Kingdom area when a customer inquired about some premium pelts. Zablosky replied that he had none at the time, but "When my boys return from the possum kingdom, I'm sure they will have some." Zablosky operated a class C professional league baseball team (the Resorters) in Mineral Wells. He became owner of the first professional baseball team in Dallas, later in life. The Chicago White Sox (J. C. McClure was their official photographer) are known to have held their Spring Training camp in Mineral Wells in 1911, and again during a three-year stretch of 1916, 1917, and 1918. It has not been established whether the players shown in this picture represent the Resorters or the White Sox teams. The man in the background, apparently in a World War I uniform, is shown holding an instrument (probably a bugle) whose function has not been determined.
[Basketball at Elmhurst Park]
A note on the back of the photograph identifies this venue as Elmhurst Park. The park was located on Pollard Creek, some one-and-a-half miles from the southwest corner of Oak and Hubbard Streets; and was owned by The Mineral Wells Electric System, which operated a trolley that ran from downtown to the park. (The street car company went bankrupt in 1913, and both the park and trolley ceased operations that year.) The picture appears to be a tip-off to begin a period of play in a men's basketball game. Both men's and women's basketball games were held at the park when it was in operation (from 1907 to 1913).
[Bathing Beauties]
Three young women lounge at the "Old" Mineral Wells City Pool. The woman on the right was Jill Hickey, Mineral Wells High School graduate of 1966, later Jill Hickey Moore of Stafford, Texas. This photograph, judging by the women's hair-do's, appears to have been taken in the 1960's.
[Bill Cameron]
"Bill Cameron at his desk in the [old] Mineral Wells Index." The newspaper office was located at 207 NW 1st Avenue.
[The Birch McClendon Food Store]
The only information about this picture comes from a legend on the back of it: Mrs. Vernon Hill father & n of [sic] Chester Claywell Mr. Lord. grocery [illegible] Specialty Shop [written vertically] DW Griffith It is featured in "Time was in Mineral Wells" on page 128 as "Birch McClendon Food Store, located at 211 Southeast 1st Street." The pointed light-bulb (and the collar of the clerk) suggests that it was photographed at the turn of the twentieth century.
[A Boy and a Girl in Fancy Dress]
This photograph shows a pre-pubescent boy in formal attire standing by a girl with a dress that has furbelows, with the train drawn in front of her, and wearing a fleury crown (of cardboard?). She carries a nosegay. He has a boutonniere. An inscription on the back of the picture reads: "Patsy Baughn I think Geo. Kossteson [?]" The boy has been identified as George Kesterson III, who was born in Mineral Wells on September 23, 1923 and died in Tarrant County, Texas on the 25th of January, 1990. He married Mary Sue Wilson in Nolan, Texas in 1987. She died in 1994. He is buried in Fort Worth. The girl has been identified as Patsy Ann Baughn, who was born in Mineral Wells on October 1, 1924; she married Dowey E. Bratcher on June 17, 1969 in Parker County, Texas; nothing is known [in 2016] about a spouse named "Harrell." She died in Arlington, Texas the 23rd of January, 2006. Further information in reference to the occasion that prompted this photograph is presently [2016] wanting.
[A Brazos River Scene]
This 1925 photograph shows individuals, in clothing of the period, at the Brazos River. It appears to be a holiday outing. Some of the people sitting and standing are in full dress, and not wearing swim suits. The flat and sandy shore is reminiscent of the Village Bend area of the Brazos River in the vicinity of Oaks Crossing (the early Brazos ford on the main road from Palo Pinto to Weatherford) some 6 miles southeast of Palo Pinto. The opposite shoreline in the photograph is rocky, with heavy vegetation and high banks. The photograph comes from a Knights of Pythias Album.
[The Brewer Home]
The Brewer home on East Mountain is shown here, from a picture taken April 4, 1976. It is visible from most of North Oak Avenue. Originally the Murphy Home, the building underwent many renovations during the period of Mr. Murphy's residence. Mr. Murphy was a contractor who built many buildings in Mineral Wells, including the Mineral Wells High School (1914) and the third First Baptist Church. It is a good example of (re-modeled) Neo-classical architecture.
[The Brick Highway Between Mineral Wells and Weatherford]
The 1936 ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the new brick highway between Weatherford and Mineral Wells, now U.S. Highway 180, is depicted here. This photograph was taken just seconds before the photograph found on page 97 of A. F. Weaver's book, "TIME WAS..." 2nd edition. Some of the dignitaries in the photograph are Allen Wallace, W.A. Ross, Pat Corrigan and Paul Woods. The new highway to Weatherford began at the 900 block of East Hubbard, and the bricks to fashion the highway were hand-laid by two strong Negro men.
[The Brick Road East of Mineral Wells]
The brick highway (emphatically not yellow brick!) east of Mineral Wells (the Bankhead Highway) was the nation's first transcontinental highway, beginning at milepost 0 on the steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. and ending at San Diego, California. Bricks for it in this area were made in Thurber, Texas (on the Palo Pinto/Erath county line). All bricks were laid by two (some say one) black masons. Bricks made in Thurber were also used to build the seawall at Galveston after the disastrous hurricane of 1900, to pave the streets of Fort Worth, and even Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas.
[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."
[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.
[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.
[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
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