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[Bill Cameron in Front of Old "Index" Building]
Bill Cameron stands before the old "Index" Building--on Northwest First Avenue (across from the Crazy Water Building).
The Bimini
The Bimini Mineral Baths, at 112 NW 4th Street, was built by Goodrum, Murphy and Croft, contractors in the early 1900's. The Bimini later became the Wagley Bathhouse. Dr. Wagley was an early pharmacist in Mineral Wells. The El Paso Morning Times in 1909 states that the re-building of the Bimini (the building here illustrated) will cost "...over $35,000." What the equivalent amount could be in modern-das dollars remains unknown. Please note the utter lack of automobiles, and the horse-drawn vehicle in front of the bath house. The meaning of the white-ink number "1861" remains to be determined.
The Bimini Bath House
A photograph of an old postal card showing the Bimini Mineral Bath House, later known as "The Wagley Building" is shown here. It was constructed by Goodrum, Murphy, and Croft and located at 114 NW 4th Street. It was later demolished.
[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.
Bird's Eye-view of Mineral Wells
Two contiguous negatives, taken from East Mountain, looking Southwest are shown here. Please note that some landmarks have been numbered in ink on the photographs. On the first [upper] photograph (No. 3), the pavilion with the steeple on the roof,is the Hawthorne well, located at 314 NW 1st Ave. (No. 4), the large two-story structure, is the Crazy Drinking Pavilion. The Lithia Pavilion is the structure between the Hawthorne and Crazy pavilions. Note also the Hawthorn House (No. 5?), located on North Oak. The large livery stable in the left foreground has not been identified by name. Please note the Poston Building on the second [lower] photograph, on North Oak (not numbered, but the three-part building in the middle left of the photograph). Also, please note the two steeples of the first Catholic Church on NW 3rd Street, in the 600 block, on the side of West Mountain. The large two-story frame hotel (No. 2) in the left foreground has not been identified.
[A Bird's Eye-view of Mineral Wells]
An early panoramic view of Mineral Wells is shown here. The picture is a composite of two views taken from East Mountain. Attached to the composite is a date "1901." The large building in the front middle of the picture is the Holloway & Haley livery stable. Some of the buildings are numbered on the photograph. Recognizable are: (2) The Hawthorn Well, with steeple (Right middle of the picture), (4) The original Crazy water drinking pavilion (two-story with smaller upper third floor, right middle of picture), The Lythia Well (between the Crazy Well and the Hawthorn Well), and The Hexagon House at the far right edge of picture.
[A Bird's Eye-view of Mountains in the Distance]
llustrated here is a view of Mineral Wells from the southeast, looking northwest. On the left, the large building in front of the hill is the Chautauqua, built by public subscription in 1905. It was demolished sometime about 1912. The large white building near the edge at the left middle of the picture was the First Baptist Church, which served the congregation from 1900 to 1920. The dim building under the hill at the upper right of the picture is the East Ward School (Mineral Wells' first High School), built in 1906 and closed in 1926. Please note the windmills in the backyards.
[Blind Nellie]
Blind Nellie was brought to Mineral Wells by a cowboy, who sold her at auction for a dollar and a half. She eventually came into the possession of Colonel W.R. Austin, who used her to turn the wheel of the pump at the Austin Well. The horse became a tourist attraction in that capacity. When she was retired, she continued to walk in circles in her pasture. She was given a ceremonial burial when she died in 1912, a burial attended by a large crowd of admirers. The story may be found on page 54 of "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells..." by A.F. Weaver. Written on the back of this photograph is "Blind Nellie at Austin Well located in the 900 block of N.E. 2nd Ave." This is clearly a photograph of a newspaper clipping.
[Blind Nellie at the Austin Well]
Colonel W. R. Austin came from Kentucky to Palo Pinto County about 1880, and settled on Staggs Prairie. When an infection in his eye responded to mineral water treatment, he established the Austin Well, later operated by his son-in-law, Tom Sims. Blind Nellie was a fixture of the Austin Well for years. She had an interesting history: A cowboy rode her into town one day, and auctioned her off to the highest bidder, J.H. Coleman, who bid a dollar and a half for her. Then Bob Kyle took Coleman's bargain off his hands, but Colonel Austin was the one who profited most from her when he devised a method that used her to "pump" water from his well. This unique method of bringing water to the surface was an added attraction at the Austin. Instead of drawing it up by hand or using a power pump, Blind Nellie was trained to walk around in circles, pulling the water up from below. She would pause long enough for the water to empty and, as if on a hidden cue, would go around again as the receptacle was lowered back into the well, repeating her performance accurately each time. In later years, when she became confused in her ritual, she was allowed to retire. In retirement, however, Blind Nellie selected a place in her pasture, and during the working hours of the day she repeated the ritual of walking her circle in a size corresponding to the one she had walked for so many years at the Austin Well. She died in 1912.
[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 Factory]
The abundant clay in and around Palo Pinto County was recognized around the turn of the 20th century as a source of raw material for brick manufacturing. Rejected fine coal from the area's coal mines furnished heat to fire the clay and bake it into brick. This brick factory in far western Parker County, near the Rock Creek coal mine, was a major industry in Mineral Wells. The factory was first opened on January 21 of 1921. The factory is in full operation in this photograph, with train cars on the tracks and bricks stacked along the rail area awaiting shipment. Area-made bricks were used to build the seawall at Galveston after the disastrous hurricane of 1900; to pave both the highway from Mineral Wells to Ft. Worth as well as many of the streets in in that city; and to pave Congress Avenue in Austin.
[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.
[The Bridge at the Old Elmhurst Park]
This picture illustrates the swinging bridge crossing Pollard Creek in Elmhurst Park. Note the Mineral Wells Electric Railway street car (trolley) in the background. Elmhurst Park was located about where Southwest 25th Street and Southwest 25th Avenue are located today. Both Elmhurst Park and the streetcar operated from about 1907 to 1913. The dam over Pollard Creek was broached, and the lake was drained after the park closed. A housing development was built on the old Elmhurst Park grounds during World War II. Writing on the photograph dates it to 1907, shortly after the Park opened, and identifies the two visitors on the bridge as Allen and Charles--apparently father and son.
[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.
[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
Camp Wolters - Texas
Illustrated here is a panoramic view of Camp Wolters, Texas. Labels on photograph identify (left to right) Area No. 4, Sports Arena, Service Club, Area No. 5, Area No. 3, Area No. 2, and Area No.1. Platoons of soldiers are marching on the left side of the photograph.
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."]
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 , 1of 3]
The Casino, facing the lake at Elmhurst Park. For further details, please consult the other pictures in the series.
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.
[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.
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