Mineral Wells' first Police Department is shown on horseback here. On the far left is Jim Barrett, Chief, and in the middle is Paul Granbury. The man on the right remains unknown. This photograph comes from A. F. Weaver's, "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells", page 153.
The picture appears to have been taken at the photographer's souvenir picture stand on the donkey trail about halfway up East Mountain. J. C. McClure, an early photographer, first owned the donkeys for the trail; but he was killed while riding a wild stallion on Oak Avenue. J. L. Young and his wife took over the photographer's stand. They built a rock house, here as a background, for souvenir pictures. In 1895, a policeman (C.M. Harris) was appointed as City Marshall." A night watchman (A. Scott) was also appointed. Their respective duties were primarily fire prevention and keeping livestock from roaming the streets; and seeing to it that businesses were properly locked up. Boys under the age of 17 were forbidden from roaming the streets at night (under pain of a $10 fine). C.M. Harris was elected to his position in 1896, at a salary of $60 per month. In 1889, upon the sudden death of Frank Johnson, Harris was appointed Interim Marshall to "Inspect and supervise all premises and places of business." J.I. Johnson became night watchmen at the salary of $12.50, and he was charged with roaming the streets at nights to be on the lookout for fire. The City Marshall was expected to corral any stray dogs--and kill them if they were unclaimed. He was to remove the carcasses from the city limits afterwards. in 19001, an ordinance was passed forbidding the possession of pigeons in the city--the control of which fell to the City Marshall. [Note: Several kinds of dove still--2016--live within the confines of Mineral Wells, but pigeons are not one of them] in 1907, the McClure donkey stand near the Crazy Water Hotel (q.v.) was shut down, because of complaints of the hotel residents of the smell. In 1909, the police force was reduced to three people, with a combined budget of $3000 annually. There was still a City Marshall, but fire prevention was his main occupation. Stray livestock was impounded, and fees collected from their sale helped defray the costs of the police force. These details come from "The Mineral Wells Police Department, 1992-1988",written by Kaye Ashby,in the custody of Boyce Ditto Public Library.
Place Name coordinates. (May be approximate.)
Place Name coordinates. (May be approximate.)
