[Dismuke's Famous Mineral Crystals Label]
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: One of the by-products of the water which made Mineral Wells famous was mineral crystals, which were shipped all over the world. Purchasers could dissolve the crystals in tap water and (reportedly) receive the same benefits from the reconstituted water as from the well water. The Famous Water Company and the Famous Crystal Company were founded by Ed Dismuke, a druggist from Waco who came to Mineral Wells for his health. The Famous Water Company is still in operation--under different ownership--and it is the only mineral water company in Mineral Wells at this time.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth24972/
The First Well Was Dug Here in 1877
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: This photograph illustrates a cartoon. "1880" is written in ink at bottom of the photograph, evidently in correction of the cartoon. Lynch arrived in what would later be Mineral Wells in 1877. His first well, dug to forty-one feet in 1878, was dry. The second well, drilled deeper, was in 1880. Please see also "Opening of the First Season at Mineral Wells" and "Mr. Lynch on His Way to Discover Mineral Wells." The cartoon appears to have been taken by A. F. Weaver from a jocular booklet titled "Inside Story About the Waters" which is in the holdings of the Palo Pinto County Album (q.v.). The booklet was written in the nineteenth-century burlesque tradition, and Weaver makes no comment on the cartoon or the booklet.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20226/
[A Love Story of Mineral Wells]
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: This photograph appears to be a fragment of the cover of an advertising booklet that includes the fiction "A Love Story of Mineral Wells." The complete booklet is available by flipping through the page by selecting "next" above the photographs. The cover shows a lady holding a handful of dominoes, which was probably meant to establish a connection to Mineral Wells, Dominoes once being a popular pastime in the city. The game of 42 (named after the number of points that could be scored in a game) was invented in Garner, seven miles east of Mineral Wells.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20213/
[Lynch Cabins]
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: A drawing of the Lynch cabins, done by Jarmon Alvis Lynch, grandson of James Alvis Lynch. The drawing says "Alvis Lynch 77" in the bottom right-hand corner. The picture was apparently done from memory. The original mineral water discovery well is in the right foreground, with a windlass for drawing water. "Judge" Lynch and his family did not arrive in Millsap Valley until Christmas 1879. Note the tents in the right background. H. M. Berry, Mineral Wells' first teacher, noted in an article that when the reputation for the curative powers of the water spread, the area looked like "an army on the move" with health-seekers temporarily camping in tents until housing could be built for them.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth16265/
[Mineral Wells School, Texas] (architectural drawing)
Date: c. 1902
Creator: unknown
Description: This clipping had been mounted in a scrapbook, and the legible portion of the caption says, "Mineral Wells School, Texas." It appears to be a reproduction of a greatly reduced architectural drawing. It is a proposal for Mineral Wells' first high school (when the school at 205 NW 5th Avenue was in the planning stages). The floor plan of the pictured building may be similar to the West Ward School, but the more ornate facade treatment differs substantially from the building that was finally erected in 1902.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth25053/
Mr. Lynch On His Way to Discover Mineral Wells
Date: October 16, 2006
Creator: unknown
Description: This picture is a photograph of a cartoon. See also "Opening of the First Season at Mineral Wells" and "The First Well Was Dug Here in 1877." Please note the centipede, illustrated along with other forms of wildlife. Also, please note the Indians, who appear to be friendly. A.F. Weaver took this cartoon from a jocular booklet titled "Inside Story About the Waters" (q.v.) that is in the Palo Pinto County Album collection (q.v.) It is written in the nineteenth-century burlesque style, and need not be taken seriously.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20225/
Opening of the First Season at Mineral Wells
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: A.F. Weaver obtained this cartoon from a jocular booklet titled "Inside Story About the Waters", now in the Palo Pinto County Album collection (q.v.). The booklet is written in the nineteenth-century burlesque tradition, and is not meant to be taken seriously. See also the cartoons "The First Well Was Dug Here in 1877" and "Mr. Lynch on His Way to Discover Mineral Wells."
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20224/
The Right Ticket
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: An old advertisement for Mineral Wells, touting the "pleasures" to be had in the city. The lady's crown displays the legend "Health & Pleasure." The "Pleasures" obtainable in the city need not be discussed, as they are plainly describedd in the picture, which may be found on page 91 of the second edition of A. F. Weaver's book, "Time Was..."
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20347/
Souvenir Views of Mineral Wells, Texas
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: A pamphlet, shaped like a water bottle, with illustrations of the Mineral Wells area. Some pictures include unidentified visitors to the area that are enjoying the outdoor natural beauty. Please note the statement "Patent and Trademark applied for by the Yeager Drug Company" on the lower left-hand portion of the photograph.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth16341/
Time Was in Mineral Wells
Date: unknown
Creator: unknown
Description: The dust cover of "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells... 1975 Edition." It is considered the first pictorial history of the city. The book is the product of A.F. Weaver, whose collection of photographs constitutes this collection.
Contributing Partner: Boyce Ditto Public Library
Permallink:texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth16294/