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The Giant Penny
This photograph appears to have been taken in the Convention Hall. The date is unknown. It shows a display of various items on and around a stage. The title 'The Giant Penny' appears to be taken from an advertisement of Texas Power & Light that was popular in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The advertisement extols the amount of electricity that even one single cent will buy. The occasion that prompted this display might only be conjectured. Conjectures, however, are not only tiresome, but likely to be wrong, too. Therefore, none will be rehearsed here.
[The Gibson Well]
The Gibson Well was located on the 700 block of NW 2nd Avenue. In 1888, the label on a bottle of "Natural Gibson Well Water" boasted cures for "constipation, rheumatism, female complaints, nervousness, calculi, stomach, liver, kidney & bladder disorders." Please note the crossing of the "WMW&NW RR" tracks and the "Dinky Car" tracks in the left foreground of the picture.
Gibson Well Park and Pavilion
Young ladies frolic at the Gibson Well Park around 1900. Two young women are swinging jump-ropes Double-Dutch style for a third lady. The dress styles indicate this group represents a social club on a spring outing. Note the distinctive architectural style of the Gibson mineral water pavilion. The First Christian Church now occupies the site of the early Gibson Park.
[Green Cottage]
The "Green Cottage", located at NW 1st Avenue and NW 2nd Street, was built by Tom Green, owner of Green's Livery Stables. This photograph appears on page 102 of "Time Was in Mineral Wells..." by A. F. Weaver. [The people in picture remain unidentified.]
Greetings from Palo Pinto, Texas
Shown here is the photograph of a postcard from Palo Pinto, Texas. The front has a photograph of a lake, trees, and a dirt road. The back of the card card has "Brown Road Scenes", and handwritten correspondence, that is not presented here.
[The Ground-breaking for Mineral Wells High School, 1914]
The ground-breaking ceremony for Mineral Wells High School in 1914 is shown here. The school, finished in 1915, was located on the corner of W. Hubbard Street and NW 5th Avenue.
[The Ground-breaking for the Peck City Railroad Depot]
This picture illustrates a newspaper article (in the Mineral Wells "Index")about the ground-breaking ceremony for the Gulf and Brazos Valley Railroad depot in Mineral wells, Texas. The G & B V railroad ran from a junction on the Texas & Pacific Railroad main line at Peck City (2 miles west of Millsap) to Mineral Wells. The G&B V depot was on SE Mesquite Street, (now SE 1st Avenue) one block north of the WMW&NW depot. The G&B V contracted to use the WMW&NW tracks from Mineral Wells to the Rock Creek coal mines in far western Parker County, four miles east of Mineral wells. The G&B V ceased operation shortly after the Texas & Pacific Railroad bought the WMW&NW in 1902.
[A Group Picture]
A picture of a large group of attendees at the Mineral Wells Annual Fair is shown. The picture was taken in the early 1900's at the Dance Pavilion at Elmhurst Park.
[A Guest Room in the Baker Hotel]
This photograph shows a guest room in the Baker Hotel, when it was operating. Please note the corner sofa, shag carpet, round coffee-table. Please note also the smoking stand at one end of the sofa--an amenity not encountered in modern hotel rooms. The decor suggests the late 1950's or the early 1960's. It is said that the door of the room had an apparatus in it that automatically turned off the lights and the fan when the key was turned in it. The method used has not yet [2016] been fathomed. "Smart" keys (and computers that took their advice) were still in the future, but it was within the technology of the period to accomplish such wonders as rooms that automatically came to life hen the door was opened.. It is conjectured that a mercury switch in the door accomplished the feat.
[Hacks at a Railroad Depot]
Before the ascendancy of automobiles to public popularity, hacks met newcomers at the depot to take them to their favorite hotel or rooming house. This picture is probably typical week-end visitors from the Ft. Worth/Dallas "Metroplex" in Mineral Wells to drink the health-giving mineral water, and take the relaxing baths and massages. The men on the telephone poles were typical of the "spotters" who sought to deliver clients to local hotels and rooming houses. The photograph appears on page 44 of the "Time Was..." Second Edition.
Hal Collins
The name "Hal Collins", manager of the Crazy Hotel in the early 1930's, is printed on the back of this photograph, as well as his autograph on the face. He and his brother Carr bought the burned-out shell of the original Crazy Hotel; and built another, much more elaborate, in its place. He became convinced (by a salesman, according to one story; by his vice-president by another) that by advertising on the new medium, radio, that he could sell a boxcar-load of Crazy Water Crystals (evaporated from the now-famous water) each week. As a result, the "Crazy Gang" began broadcasting from the lobby of the Crazy Hotel over the Texas Quality Network. Hal Collins himself went on the radio air with his spot called "One Mans' Opinion." The noon broadcast became so popular that the sponsor was shipping, not one but several, carloads of Crazy Water Crystals per week to a nationwide audience of devoted listeners. More than one well was required to fill the orders that came in. He was one of 22 alternates in 1941 for the position of United States Senator on the death of Morris Shepard. He moved to Reynoso, Mexico to look after his brother's radio station. Weatherford's Mary Martin got her start in show business on the program that Collins had originated, where she became known as "Crazy Mary."
A Hazy View of Mineral Wells
Photograph of the city of Mineral Wells, Texas, taken from a hill looking down at the buildings.
[Headshot of David Brinkley against dark background]
Signed head-shot of David Brinkley wearing a suit and light-colored tie, with half of his face slightly shadowed. The backdrop behind him is dark. The notation reads, "To the army helicopter school with my best wishes. Long may you wave!" On the back of the photograph are handwritten notes and a stamp giving the Boyce-Ditto Public Library's address.
[Headshot Walter Cronkite]
Photograph of American broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite. In this head-shot, Mr. Cronkite wears a medium colored suit and a tie. On the back of the photograph is an ink stamp giving the Boyce-Ditto Public Library address.
[Hell's Gate]
An old channel of the Brazos River cut a gap in a sandstone formation in the Possum Kingdom area. Water from the impounded Possum Kingdom Lake covered the area and created this spectacular scene when the Morris Shepard Dam was built by the W.P.A. for flood control in the late 1930's. For a feel of the magnitude of the vista, please note the two-story home atop the cliff to the right of the photograph.
[The Hexagon Hotel]
The popular Hexagon Hotel, built in 1897, was the first structure in Mineral Wells to be electrically-lit. Electricity was supplied by a DC power plant next door. It was located at 701 N. Oak, and was torn down September 1959. This photograph is found on page 177 of "Time Was.." 2nd Ed. by A. F. Weaver.
[The Hexagon Hotel and Convention Hall]
A hexagon-shaped hotel was designed and built by David G. Galbraith, and located in Mineral Wells in the 700 block of N. Oak Street. Construction was started in 1895 and completed in 1897. The hotel was the first electrically-lighted hotel in the city, and the hexagon shape was designed to achieve maximum air circulation 61 years before air-conditioning became available. Mr. Galbraith was also the inventor of the paper clip (not the familiar one, but one very much like it. He was issued a patent in 1910); and along with five other men, he was the inventor of the synthetic fiber acetate. The hotel was demolished in 1959. The Convention Hall building at 715 N. Oak Street, located next door to the Hexagon Hotel, was built in 1925 on the site of Mineral Well's first electrical generating plant (DC). The Convention Hall was torn down by the city in 1977.
[The Hexagon Hotel - drawing]
A photograph of a painting of the Hexagon Hotel is shown here. The unique Hexagon Hotel was the subject of many artists and photographers during its existence. Built in 1897 by David Galbraith, it was the first hotel in Mineral Wells to have electricity in every room. It also had outside exposure in every room for ventilation in the summer. The top floor was a reading room--popular at the time. Alvis Lynch, the painter of the picture, was the grandson of Judge Lynch, who founded Mineral Wells. He lived in California, but presented the original painting to the Heritage Association when he visited Mineral Wells. His signature--and the date 1977--is visible on the lower right-hand portion of the photograph.
[The Hexagon Hotel Staircase]
Shown here is an intricately-carved newel post for a staircase in the Hexagon Hotel. It had four staircases that spiraled through its five floors. The interior trim of the hotel was of "heart of pine"--a hardwood, despite its name. Pegs and square nails were used in its construction. The building was designed in a honeycomb pattern for a maximum of ventilation--for the comfort of the guests. It is greatly lamented that the post (and the building itself, for that matter) are no longer in existence. See also: Hexagon Hotel [with history] for further details.
[The Hexagon Hotel Stairwell]
This picture shows a staircase in the Hexagon Hotel taken from the top floor. A view of the first-floor lobby can be seen at the lower middle of the picture with the stairs spiraling from floor to floor down to the ground level. A writer in the Palo Pinto County Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.) in 1966 remarked that "[A]s one entered the lobby once could see the stairways as they encircled each floor giving a gallery effect." See also: "Hexagon Hotel [with history]" for further details.
The Hexagon Hotel [With History]
Construction of the Hexagon Hotel was started in 1895 and completed in 1897. It was constructed of long-leaf yellow pine; the exterior was cypress siding, and the roof was covered with hand-split cypress shingles. The interior was of "Heart of Pine" (The hardest that could be found) wood. According to Winnie Beatrice McAnelly Fiedler (A thesis presented...to University of Texas.. for the Degree of M.A....) Galbraith purchased the lot No. 19 in the Wiggins Addition for $1,500. It was opened in 1897 and its telephone number was "6." Galbraith himself died in 1927. All the stone work was done by two English stone-masons. The building was constructed with pegs and square nails. The four staircases inside spiraled through the five floors. The lobby floor was covered with hexagon-shaped tan, brown and blue tiles. The rooms were hexagon-shaped with a bath between every two rooms. The hotel was torn down for the materials in the building in September 1959. (This information is found on page 106 "Time Was in Mineral Wells" by A.F. Weaver) The hotel was sold, for a brief time, to the Caldwell family, and it was dubbed "The Caldwell-Hexagon Hotel." It advertised under that name in the Jacksboro "Gazette" of June 4, 1914, stating that it had its own "Deep well, fresh water." Rates were given at $12.50 per week. The "Palo Pinto County Star (Mineral Wells, Tex.)" remarks (in 1966) that "Rates in season were $1.50 per day; out of season, $1.00 per day, which included bath privileges. Meals were available at nearby hotels." The "Star" goes on to relate that the Hexagon Hotel was converted into apartments at some time prior to its demolition, but it does not say exactly when this conversion was made.
[A Hill With Power Poles]
This picture was taken from one of 17 (4"X4") negatives that were contained in an envelope from Charles W. Simonds (Route 5, Box 43, Norman, Oklahoma, 73069), addressed to A.F. Weaver Photography and postmarked "Aug. 4, 1975." Also on the envelope are some telephone numbers and a remark: "Father - C.W. Simonds (Clarence Winfield.) This picture is taken from East Mountain, Mineral Wells, looking east along Northeast 4th Street. The ruins of a foundation of a building seen at the end of the street about half-way up the hill was the Chautauqua, completed in 1905 and demolished about 1912. The lookout tower at the top of the mountain was blown away by a tornado in 1930. There is a sign below the crest of the mountain (It appears to proclaim the "Young Photo Garden", which was located at 309 N. Oak Avenue) approximately in the place where the "Welcome" sign was erected in 1922. The Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) built a youth center on this site in the 1970's, that is still standing at the present time [2008]. Several unidentified people are also to be seen in the photograph.
[A Home at 401 N. W. 6th Street]
This photograph is found on page 115 of the "Mini Edition, 'Time Was'..." and on page 140 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver. J. S. Murphy (seen on the left) built this home in 1914 for L. E. Seaman (on the right). The style appears to be eclectic, with Prairie and Mission elements. Please note the unusual double porte-cochere and the shaped parapet of the front dormer.
[The Home of Dr. C.F. Yeager at 300 NE 1st Street]
A note on the back of the print states that this home was located at 300 NE 1st Street. This home, of physician Dr. C.F. Yeager, stood next door and east of the Old Methodist Church, which may be seen on the left side of the photograph. Dr. Yeager's drugstore was one block west of his home at the SW corner of of NW 1st Street and NW 2nd Avenue.
[The Hotel Drug Store]
Pete McCleskey (Left) with employee "Soda jerks" Don McGowan, Alvin Lee, Gentry Johnson and Robert Beyer, stand at the soda fountain of McCleskey's Hotel Drug in 1940. The drug store was located off the lobby in the east side of Mineral Wells' Crazy Hotel.
Hotel Guide, Highway Guide and Where to Go in Mineral Wells
The cover page of a guide to the town of Mineral Wells, with information about the different types of water available, recreation activities, sanatoriums, and hotels is shown here. The clothes of the"Dyspeptic" illustrated at the bottom left suggest the late 1920's. Please note the gammadion (swastika) ribbons above and below the doggerel on the left side of the picture. The guide appears to have been printed considerably before the rise of the Nazis in Germany.
Hotel Guide, Highway Guide, and Where to Go in Mineral Wells
This guide to the town of Mineral Wells, contains information about the different types of water available, recreation activities, sanatoria, and hotels. A "Dyspeptic" is also shown as a "Before" image. Please observe the gammadion (swastika) ribbons that adorn the top and bottom of the doggerel that touts the benefits of the mineral waters. This guide appears to have been published long before the Nazis of Germany gave the symbol a bad image. The brochure announces proudly that "Registered Nurses [are] in Charge" and that it is "Open to All Ethical Physicians and Surgeons." Among the physicians listed in the Mineral Wells Sanitarium, there is a "L[loyd]. C[ason]. Roberts, M.D.", who was born in Nettleton, Mississippi on October 14, 1868; and who died June 24, 1927 in Mineral Wells. The City Directory lists him as living in 1910 as a Justice of Precinct 8, Hill Texas; he was listed as a widower and a boarder. Later (according to the directory) he was living in Mineral Wells in 1924 with a wife (Bertha Van Everett Taylor--1880-1964) and son (Francis Taylor Roberts--1908-1974) , and he was 56 years old.
[A House at 1004 SW 10th Street]
A picture of the home at 1004 SW 10th Street, Mineral Wells, Texas is shown here. The picture does not afford a sufficiently good view to determine its style, but Neoclassical elements are evident. A 1940 telephone book lists it as the address of one Alvin Maddox.
The Howard Building
Shown here is the D. M. Howard Building, once located on 101 Southeast 1st Avenue. It was later the J.M. Belcher Furniture Store, and then again the R. & W. Furniture. The building was torn down March 17, 1975 to make room for the Mineral Wells Savings & Loan building, and for a parking lot to serve it. A Piggly-Wiggly grocery store was built to the right. The picture is featured in "Time Was in Mineral Wells" on page 123.
[Howard Family Album]
Scrapbook documenting information about the Howard family and the history of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas. It includes photographs, newspaper clippings, and other documents along with handwritten notes and annotations.
Howard-&-White Dry-Goods Department
This picture shows a float for the Elmhurst Park Fair--around 1910. From the left are: Mr. Collier; A.L. Howard; Newt Wilson; Fred White (the owner); Pet Dotson; three Howard sisters: Helen, Floe & Eppie; Lizzie Lyles; Charlie Enzy; Joe Fleming, sitting); Mr. Phillips; Mae Howard; Mr. DeBusk; Lummie Glen; Bailey Enzy; Blake Turner; Leslie DeBusk. This picture adorns page 124 of A.F. Weaver's "Time Was in Mineral Wells."
Howard's Hardware Store 1903
A printed legend on the top of the photograph reads: "Howard Hardward [sic] 1903" Please note the crowded aisles of miscellaneous articles. Also, please notice the two counters (equipped with clerks in shirt-sleeves) and the bridge above and between them that contains further articles. A colophon at the bottom of the picture indicates that "Dan W. Evans, Photo. of Mineral Wells" took the picture.
Hubbard Street: About 1925
A picture of Hubbard Street, looking northwards to Oak Street is illustrated here. In the distance, the Crazy Hotel is being built. The photograph dates after 1925. It appears on page 135 of A.F. Weaver's "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells..."
[Hubbard Street/Crazy Sign]
This picture affords a view of Hubbard Street, in Mineral Wells, Texas,looking east. Please note the sign above street, "Welcome to Mineral Wells, Home of Crazy." The sign was torn down on December 24, 1958, to the general consternation of the public.
Inside a Howard Department Store
This picture shows the interior of an A.L. Howard business that was located where the Baker Hotel stands today [2012]. Howard himself is shown standing behind the umbrella case. Please observe the clerk in the background. He is wearing a jacket. The lady in the mid-foreground is equivalently dressed. Please observe also the apparent dimness of the interior. The photograph apparently dates from the first quarter of the twentieth century.
[Inside the Electric & Ice Plant]
Electricity was first provided to Mineral Wells by D. T. Galbraith, the builder of the Hexagon Hotel. His generating plant once stood where the Convention Hall once stood. By the year of 1906, the Mineral Wells Electric Company supplied power to the southern portion of the town, but it did not survive the Panic of 1907, at which time it was placed in the hands of trustees, who shut the operation down. There were only 23 customers left when the plant was re-opened in 1909 (The Galbraith plant was still in operation with DC power in the interim, but it was only for the trolley line and for City Hall) by the trustees, who continued operations until 1913. In 1907, Beardsley subcontracted with the Wolf Company to have the plant's 30-ton machinery to produce the ice. The ice plant was subsequently shut down, and litigation started. The electric plant operated from 1907 to 1913. In 1908, John D. Beardsley executed a deed to D[avid] T[erry] Bomar. He was unable to raise funds to execute the re-purchase options that he had originally specified. The Mineral Wells Electric Company was organized in 1913. In 1925, the Texas Power and Light Company bought the Mineral Wells Electric Company. It continued to operate under the original Beardsley franchise. . The old Electric and Ice Plant was once located on SW 1st Avenue. This photograph was taken around 1908. Pictured is D. L. Austin, father of Myrtle Butler. It is featured in "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells" on page 83, in reversed form.
[The Interior of a Barber Shop]
This photograph shows of the early-day barber shops in Mineral Wells. The persons shown and the location of it are unknown. Please observe the point on the bottom of the best-illustrated light bulb. The "Customer" in the farthest chair has been conjectured to be a barber himself (there are three chairs shown), and he was posed in the chair for the sake of the photograph. Note also that the barber in the foreground is in shirt-sleeves--something virtually disallowed in 1906. There are two gas-lighted appliances, and several electric light-bulbs shown, one of which has an opaque bottom. A sign in the background reads "Baths 25 [cents]", meaning, perhaps, that facilities for bathing must lurk behind the partition. The room itself was located, it appears, in a re-modeled building whose place has not been determined. A legend on the photograph dates it to 1905; however, calendars in the picture show April. April 1st fell on a Sunday in 1906.
[The Interior of a Grocery Store]
A legend on the back of the photograph reads: "D.M. Howard Grocery Simon Gilbert on Left Great Uncle of Estes Gilbert" A different hand has written "2nd is D. M. Howard himself" Please notice the moustaches on nearly all the gentlemen pictured. Please notice also that all of the men but two are wearing jackets. The store shows no sign of electric lighting. There may be a gas fixture at the left edge of the picture, which, along with the appearance of the men, may serve to indicate that the photograph was taken in the early part of the twentieth century, but definite information on this issue is lacking. The picture is featured in "Time Once was in Mineral Wells" on page 123.
[The Interior of The First National Bank]
This picture shows the interior of the First National Bank around the year 1930. It was located at the corner of NE 1st Avenue and Hubbard Street. The picture may be found in in A.F. Weaver's "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells" on page 146.
[The J.S. Murphy Home]
The J.S. Murphy home, located on East Mountain (facing West), overlooks the city. The house was built by Murphy in 1905, and remodeled into a full two-story home in 1915. Mr Murphy was a partner of Goodrum, Murphy and Croft, Contractors, who built many of the homes and buildings of Mineral Wells, including the Old High School. The picture appears on pages 114 and 140 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells...", 2004, Mini Edition.
[J. W. (Doon) Deberry and His Well machine]
Drilling of the Vichy Well was done by J.W. "Doon" Deberry in the 600 block of North Oak Street. The Vichy Well Natatorium, later the Beach, and still later the Standard Well, was located across N. Oak Avenue from the Hexagon House Hotel, which can be seen at the right edge of the photograph. The wooden building on the left, with the false arcades, has not yet been identified. The Standard Pavilion boasted a variety of attractions including a swimming pool, movie theater, bowling alley, and dance floor. It was torn down during World War II, and replaced by a USO Canteen to serve the soldiers training at local Camp Wolters. At the end of the War, the USO was given to the City and utilized as a Community Center and later Senior Center.
Jack Amlung
The band in this photograph is identified as "Jack Amlung." It consists of nine players, including its leader. The instruments visible are: A sousaphone; two (?)pianos; a violin; an alto saxophone; a clarinet, a guitar, a bass viol; percussion. C[letus] Jack Amlung was born in Illinois in 1907. He married Sarah Finesilver in Comal, Texas in 1927; he died in Dallas in 1978, where he had been resident for the previous 17 years.
[The Joe Russel Service Station]
This picture shows the Joe Russell Gulf Service Station, once at 501 North Oak Avenue. Note the two frowning men in uniforms, indicating that this was a complete-service operation--virtually extinct in this age [2013]. Further information about the identities of the two men--or the fate of the service station--is not known.
[John Mathiews Inspects a Well]
John Mathews, owner of the Crazy Hotel, inspects a Crazy Water well under the sidewalk of the northwest corner of the present [2012] Crazy Hotel. The photograph was taken in 1974.It is featured in "Time Was in Mineral Wells" on page 29.
The John Moore Home, 1911, 1 of 2: Interior
An inscription on the photograph reads: "(John Moore Home) 1911." The original builder of the house was Hugh Coleman. John Moore occupied the house in the early twentieth century. Please note the period dress and furniture. The fireplace shows an "Arts and Crafts" style of construction. The names of the people pictured are not known. This picture appears to be that of a house now [2008]located at 915 NW 4th Avenue. Hugh M. Coleman was the head of H.M. Coleman & Co., dealers in "Everything that men wear." He is said to have accumulated a large number of rent houses, of which this might be one. (This information about Hugh Coleman is taken from the "Mineral Wells Index", special supplement, originally published May 6, 1907)
The John Moore Home, 1911, 2 of 2: Interior
An inscription on photograph reads: "(John Moore Home) 1911." The original builder was Hugh Coleman. John Moore occupied the house at a later date. Please note the period dress and furniture. The names of the people pictured are not known. This photograph appears to show a house now located at 915 NW 4th Avenue.
John Moore Home, 1911 [exterior]
An inscription on photograph reads: "(John Moore Home) 1911." The house was built in 1906 at 915 NW 4th Avenue by Hugh Coleman. Note the period dress and cowboy clothing. The names of the people pictured are not known. The young man in the foreground is demonstrating his skill with a lariat. The group appears to be in the home's porte-cochere, which was used to protect people, while disembarking from an automobile or a carriage during inclement weather
[A Joint Meeting of Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs]
This photograph is found in A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells...", first edition, on page 101. The caption reads, "Inside the Damron Hotel at a joint meeting of Kiwanis and Rotary Clubs. Dr. McCracken is third from the right." Dr. Joseph Hill McCracken was President of the Texas Medical Association in 1911. The Damron Hotel, in the 100 block between West Hubbard and Southwest1st Street, burned in 1975.
[Judge J. A. Lynch]
. This picture,of Judge J. A. Lynch (1827-1920), founder of Mineral Wells, Texas, may be found published on page 32 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver. It is taken from a painting that is owned by the Lynch family, and executed by Thomas Beauregard. A label at the bottom of the frame cannot be read, but presumably identifies the subject of the painting.
Judge J. A. Lynch
Shown here is a reproduction of a steel engraving of Judge J. A. Lynch, founder of Mineral Wells. The source of the engraving remains unknown. A fragment of copy at the bottom of the picture mentions the "inconvenience of hauling it from the Brazos River." The initials "GSW" are visible to the left of the judge's lapel.
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