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[Col. and Mrs. W. Riess (W. R.) Austin]
Colonel and Mrs. W. Riess (W. R.) Austin are depicted here, from an image taken from a 1902 photograph. Colonel Austin is mentioned on page 54 of "Time Was..." second edition. A. F. Weaver says, "...the Austin Well, established by Col. W. R. Austin, who came from Kentucky to Palo Pinto County about 1880. Austin settled on Staggs Prairie, where he farmed and ranched. Then he became interested in mineral waters when he had an eye infection that affected his sight. So he moved to Mineral Wells, and the constant use of the waters restored his sight. He engaged in the dairy business, at first; but later entered the mineral water production field, establishing the Austin Well, which was later operated by his son-in-law, Tom Sims."
[The Rock School Bell]
The "Little Rock School" was Mineral Wells' first public school, built in 1884. The school bell, mounted in a bell tower atop the building, called students to class by ringing 10 minutes before school time; and again at the beginning of the class period. It is now currently on display at the Little Rock School Museum, dedicated to preserving the history of Mineral Wells. This picture is found on page 172 of A. F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells", First Edition, with a notation: "The original bell for the old 'Rock School' was found years later in the water department warehouse. R. L. (Pete) Cook is on the left and Derrell Stricklin is on the right."
The Welcome Sign on East Mountain, Mineral Wells, Texas
This picture is taken from a postcard claiming that the "Welcome" sign on East Mountain is "reputed to be the largest non-commercial electric sign in U.S." It has been claimed that the "Hollywood" sign was inspired by the "Welcome" sign, but this is likely a folk legend. (The preceding picture is a black and white original of this tinted picture. A more complete description may be found there.)
Junior Class, 1913
A photograph of the Junior Class of 1913 is illustrated here. Please observe that two of the men in the front row are wearing soft collars, which was just becoming fashion at the time. The only person identified is Miss David Gladys Galbraith (named after her father, owner of the Hexagon Hotel) in the middle row, 3rd from the right. Identifications of the other people would be welcomed. The Junior class of 1913 would have been the last graduating class from the East Ward School in 1914. Mineral Wells' High School opened that following year, 1915.
[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.
[612 N. W. 6th Street]
This house is currently [2007] owned and occupied by Gil Hulls. An earlier photograph is pictured on page 140 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver. The house was built in 1905 by W. S. McCutcheon. The style is tentatively thought to be neo-classic. The two-story porch is unusual. The house shows evidence of much remodeling. The local parish of the Episcopal Church held meetings in the basement that members lovingly called "the Catacombs." St. Luke's Episcopal Church is located next door on a lot donated by the McCutcheons. For more details on the Episcopal Church, and its use of his building, please see William Gross Jr's book "Mineral Wells History--A Sampler."
[The Ferris Anderson Home]
This picture is may be found on page 183 of the book "Time Was..." Second Edition by A. F. Weaver. His caption reads, "Ferris Anderson home with Anderson on the left family group. Home is located off SE 25th Avenue. The American Legion Post 75 was named after Ferris Anderson." Anderson was a war casualty in World War I.
[A Corner of NW 1st Avenue and 9th Street]
This picture may be found on page 138 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver. The caption says, "George P. Barber residence, built in 1907 at the corner of NW 1st Avenue and 9th Street..." Dr. Barber, an early Doctor and financier in the city, joined with George W. Slaughter to donate land for Elmwood Cemetery. He established Barber's Addition (a housing development) in the north part of the City, and built a small lake for the City's first municipal water supply. The legend on the poster attached to the tree in front of the house begins, "Free Mineral Water." The rest of the sign remains obscure.
[An Early Panoramic View of Mineral Wells, Texas: 1882]
This photograph is an early panoramic view of Mineral Wells (taken approximately in 1882) from East Mountain, looking Southwest. Numbers on the photograph represent specific locations: 1. Judge Lynch's cabin, location of the first mineral water well; 2. N E 1st Avenue (second water well dug); 3. Oak Avenue and Hubbard Street; 4. Present location of the Fire and Police Station; 5. South Oak Avenue; 6. The Commercial Hotel (present location of the Gas Co.) 7. NE 1st Avenue business district; 8. North Oak Avenue. Note: The picture identifies number 6 as "The Commercial Hotel", but that hotel has been determined to have been located on South Oak Avenue. The hotel shown in the picture was the Early-Southern Hotel, which an 1893 guidebook clearly states was on Hubbard Street. The guidebook goes on to give the hotel's further location as "[O]n the same block with the post-office [sic] and three blocks from the depot." A Mr. Early is named as the proprietor.
[An Early Bird's-Eye-View of Mineral Wells]
A very early panoramic view of Mineral Wells (taken around 1882) from East Mountain and looking southwest is illustrated here. Locations identified by numbers are: 1: Judge Lynch's cabin, now Lynch Plaza at S. Oak Avenue and E. Hubbard Street; 2: The Mesquite Street well, middle of NE 1st Avenue (the second well in town, now [2008] abandoned); 3:The current center of downtown Mineral Wells, showing the intersection of Oak Avenue (US 281) and Hubbard Street (US Highway 180); 4: The current Fire and Police Departments; 5: S. Oak Avenue; 6: The Southern House Hotel; 7: The present "Business District", NE 1st Avenue; and 8: N. Oak Avenue (a residential area at the time.)
[The Damron Hotel Fire, 1 of 21, Dec. 22, 1975]
A fire destroyed the Damron Hotel, December 22, 1975. The hotel was located at 109 West Hubbard Street, facing north, before the unfortunate conflagration. The fire also destroyed Davidson Hardware, located in the same block.
[The Baker Hotel Entrance]
Shown here is the main entrance to the Baker Hotel, which went directly into the hotel lobby. The hotel had twelve stories, of which all rooms were outside ones. They were reached by an elevator with the Baker Crest on it. The building was steam-heated, and hollow-tile partitions made each room quiet. There were no exterior fire escapes--just fire-proof stairwells. Note individuals on the veranda that are standing as well as sitting in deck chairs. Cars are parked on East Hubbard Street. (US Hwy 180). Some of the most famous (and some of the infamous) people have entered through this arcade. For example, Sam Goldwyn, Jean Harlow, Clark Gable, Sammy Kaye, Helen Keller, Clyde Barrow, Lyndon Johnson, Dr. Charles Mayo, Sam Rayburn, Tom Mix, Sophie Tucker, the Three Stooges, and Roy Rogers were all guests at the hotel at one time or another. This photograph was donated by Mrs. Guy Montgomery.
The Opening of the First Season at Mineral Wells
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."
Mr. Lynch On His Way to Discover Mineral Wells
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.
The First Well Was Dug Here in 1877
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.
[The First Air-Mail Service to Mineral Wells]
The first batch of airmail arrived in Mineral Wells, 1947, 6:30 pm. Individuals from left are: John Chamberlain, Manager of the Chamber of Commerce, Fred Parnell, Bill Cameron, of the Index, Fred Brown, Manager of the Baker Hotel, Mayor John Miller, an unidentified pilot, D.C. Harris, Postmaster (holding the mail bag) and R. T. Jones. The airplane in the background, a Cessna 190, was probably the one used to transport the mail. It appeared to be a cold day, as the officials are all wearing coats. (A negative accompanying this picture depicted a "Christmas rush at the old Post Office")
Piedmont Hotel - [The Second Piedmont Hotel]
This photograph occurs on page 104 of "Time Was in Mineral Wells" (first edition) by A. F. Weaver. The caption reads: "The Second Piedmont Hotel located on 2nd Avenue [sic] and East Hubbard was demolished to give room for the Baker Hotel Garage. It was used as an office for the Army Engineers during the construction of Possum Kingdom Dam." This hotel was probably located on the same site as the first Piedmont Hotel, which was built by a Colonel Duke of Weatherford, Texas, (a two story wooden structure) a picture of which is also on page 104 of the same edition of "Time Was in Mineral Wells."
Ex-Confederates, Mineral Wells Camp No. 772
No information is available about this photograph, other than inscription "Ex. Confederates Min. Wells Camp no. 772" written in white or silver ink. There are twenty-three men in the picture (16 standing, 7 kneeling) apparently taken on NE 1st Street, beside the rock-constructed Yeager Drug Store. The apparent ages of the men indicates they were probably surviving veterans of the Civil War, either living in Mineral Wells or attending a convention here. The photograph is mounted on cardboard.
[The Murphy Family]
A scene of children sitting in horse-drawn carriage, with a man leaning against the carriage house is illustrated here. A family home is shown in the background, with chickens, and a cow in the foreground. Information on back of photograph states "Looking west. Back of Murphy Home on East Mountain." Murphy was a builder in Mineral Wells with the firm of Goodrum, Murphy and Croft, Contractors. They built many of the buildings in the early part of the 1900's, including Mineral Wells High School (1915), Bimini Bath House, and the Norwood Hospital.
[A Photograph of the Suspension Bridge Over the Brazos River (3)]
This is a photograph of a suspension bridge being built over the Brazos river near the town of Brazos, in Palo Pinto county. Three adults and a child in early twentieth-century clothes are obscurely visible in the lower left-center. The view is looking east.
[A Photograph of the Suspension Bridge Over the Brazos River (2)]
this is a photograph of suspension bridge being built over the Brazos river near the town of Brazos, in Palo Pinto county. The view is looking west. An inscription on the mounting of the photograph reads: "A Photographic Souvenir from Mineral Wells, the Great Health and Pleasure Resort of Texas."
[A Photograph of the Suspension Bridge Over the Brazos River (1)]
Here is a photograph of a suspension bridge being built over the Brazos River near the town of Brazos, in Palo Pinto County. Printed in the corner of the mount is "A Photographic Souvenir from Mineral Wells, the Great Health and Pleasure Resort of Texas."
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 R. B. Preston Building]
Written on back of the photograph is: "R.B. Preston Building[,] Corner of Mesquite & Wall." A 1909 City Directory lists the address of the Preston Building as 110-116 North Mesquite, currently the location of the Baker Hotel, built at this location in 1929. The back of a duplicate picture indicates that the building was the Masonic Building; the 1909 directory lists the Masonic Hall at 113 S. Mesquite--the next block south.
[A Letter from Mrs. William Wehunt to A.F. Weaver]--dated to About 2002
The letter shown is from "Mrs. William Wehunt", who was the former Katherine Brookshire, whose father owned a furniture store in Mineral Wells. The bank referred to in the letter is believed to have been the Bank of Mineral Wells, that failed in 1924. It had been Mineral Wells' first bank. The Brookshire family of Mineral Wells is believed to be distantly related to the founder of the chain of Brookshire grocery stores.
[The Hexagon Hotel], Southside
This photograph is a cleaned-up version, by A.F. Weaver, of the Hexagon Hotel, at approximately the time of its completion. (The site has been cleaned, and the trash removed.) Construction of the Hexagon Hotel started in 1895, and it opened for business in 1897, to ameliorate Mineral Wells' torrid summertime heat years before air-conditioning became available, its design was such that it could catch every vagrant breeze, and cool the hotel. A DC generating plant (seen behind and to the left of the hotel) furnished power to an electric light in each room. It was the first electrically-lighted hotel in Mineral Wells. the plant was operational when the hotel opened. There was also a steam laundry and an ice house, as well. The ice house produced its first block of ice in 1903. The builder/owner, Mr. David G. Galbraith (along with five other men) held the patent for acetate. Mr. Galbraith was a prominent cattleman from Colorado City, Texas. He came to Mineral Wells in hopes of curing a sever attack of rheumatism. He took the baths, and found that they helped him, so he decided to remain in Mineral Wells, and open a hotel. The original photograph, included in the A.F. Weaver collection, shows evidence of construction-related activity and debris along NW Holland Street (now [2007]: NE 6th Street).
[The Damron Hotel Fire, 20 of 21: Different View of the Fire]
Shown here is yet another view of fire at the Damron Hotel, December 22, 1975 is shown here. The hotel was located in the 109 W. Hubbard Street. The fire also destroyed Davidson Hardware, which was in the same building, and damaged Pemberton's ( nearby appliance store) and George's Man's shop a well as damaging the back of Hill's Style Shop.
Texas Trade Review
An early street scene showing buildings and a horse-drawn wagon is shown here. Written in lower left corner is "Texas Trade Review." The sign over the sidewalk reads "D.M. Howard." There were several D.M. Howard stores (see page 122 in "Time Was...", second edition). This scene was probably on Mesquite Street in the 100 block. It is undated, but the unpaved road, and the horse-drawn wagon, suggest the latter part of the nineteenth century.
Star House
The Star House was built about 1900,and owned by Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Ramsey. This 34-room hotel was situated at 315 west Coke Street. A colophon at the bottom of the picture, barely legible, reads: "1903 Ramsey House Mineral Wells, Texas John Ramsey Ima Ramsey." Johnathon Joseph Ramsey was born in Alabama on July 14, 1846; he died on January 31, 1914. He lies buried in Jefferson, Oklahoma. The people named were gone by 1909. The hotel was named "the Windsor Hotel" thereafter. This picture differs from the last one only insofar as the porch seems to have been extended across the front of the building. This photograph appears on page 105 of "Time Was in Mineral Wells", Second Edition.
The History of Elmhurst Park Housing Project
Elmhurst Park, on Pollard Creek about one mile-and-a-half of the southwest corner of Oak and Hubbard streets, closed when the trolley from the city to the Park ceased operations in 1913. The City of Mineral Wells received the park property, in a lawsuit concerning the builder of the park, one Major Beardsley (q.v. in the description field). A housing project was opened there about the time the nation began mobilizing for World War II, and construction of Fort Wolters began. (At one time, Fort Wolters was the largest Infantry Replacement Training Center in the nation; nearly 500,000 soldiers passed through the Mineral Wells railway depot during the war). The site was returned to the City of Mineral Wells following the war, and made available to veterans and their families. The area is now the site of City Water Treatment and Waste Disposal facilities.
[The Wells Hotel]
This is a picture of the Wells Hotel, in the W. E. Mayes Building, once located on the northwest corner of Northwest 1st Avenue and Northwest 3rd Street. This photograph appears on page 105 of the "Time Was", Second Edition. Please note the complete lack of automobiles in the picture. Although it is not apparent from the photograph, the street is not likely to have been paved. The picture was most likely taken in the early years of the twentieth century.
[The Golens Livery Stable]
This picture, labeled on the back as "Golens Livery Stable", shows a wagon, three hacks and a buggy, each pulled by a two-horse team. The hack on the left (the white horse on the right of the team) has a "Green's Transfer" sign on it. The hack in the middle has a passenger and the one on the right has three. The man in the foreground is likely the livery stable's owner. An assistant is visible in the stable doorway. Hacks and buggies were typical of the transportation that Mineral Wells hotels sent to Millsap to meet every passenger train on the Texas & Pacific Railroad, from the time the T&P came through Palo Pinto County in 1882 until the Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern Railroad began service between Weatherford and Mineral Wells on January 1, 1897.
[Some Gentlemen in Front of the Oxford Hotel]
Seated in front of the Oxford Hotel, from left to right, are: R.B. Preston, Mr. Dick from Millsap (seen shockingly, for that time, in shirtsleeves), and Stith Edmondson. (Mr. Edmondson was an early sheriff of Palo Pinto County.) Dr. J. H. McCracken can be seen in the window. The First State Bank and Trust Company was located in the corner of this building, later called the Firstron Building. A sign on the building in the left corner states "$15.00 Fine for Spitting on Sidewalk". This picture appears on page 103 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells..." second edition.
[A Piano Recital, 8 of 10]
An image taken from a roll of film labeled, "Ina Howard Ramsey." Mrs. Ramsey is shown signing Jo Losen's copy of "Time Was..." Art work in this picture seems to indicate the event was a combination piano recital and sale of Mrs. Ramsey's art work.
[A Piano Recital, 7 of 10]
A picture taken from from a roll of film labeled, "Ina Howard Ramsey." The label with this roll of pictures, along with others in this series, shows Ina Howard Ramsey, the pianist, greeting Jo Losen, the Layout and Artwork Editor of "Time Was...", after her performance. Art exhibits along the wall in this picture, along with a stack of books in another photograph in this series, suggests a piano recital may have been part of a combination piano recital/art show/book sale.
[Piano Recital, 6 of 10]
This picture was taken from a roll of film labeled, "Ina Howard Ramsey." The photograph seems to be of a registration table at a piano recital featuring Mrs. Ramsey. The table in the background contains art work. Other pictures in this series indicate that an art show was held in conjunction with the piano recital.
[A Piano Recital, 2 of 10]
According to the notes that accompanied this series of negatives, a piano recital was held about the same time as the auction of Mr. Weaver's book, "TIME WAS in Mineral Wells..." Mr. Weaver photographed both events. The piano recital was given in the Fellowship Hall of the First Presbyterian church. Ina Howard Ramsey is the pianist. Mrs. Ramsey was visiting her native home of Mineral Wells at the time.
[A Piano Recital, 1 of 10]
A photograph of a piano recital, from a roll of film labeled "Ina Howard Ramsey." Mrs. Ramsey's parents once operated the former Star Boarding House on NW 2nd Street. She is shown playing an upright piano at the base of a stage in the First Presbyterian church's Fellowship Hall.
[The Crazy Flats and First Crazy Hotel]
A view of early Mineral Wells from East Mountain shows the Crazy Flats in the foreground, and the first Crazy Hotel at the left, at the rear of it. The small building at the right, rear of the Crazy Flats housed the "Crazy Woman's Well" that contributed the generic "Crazy Water" name to the local mineral water. Crazy Flats, the second Crazy Drinking Pavilion with "Rooms for Rent" on the second floor, was built in 1909. The first Crazy Hotel was built in two sections: The first section, at the left rear of Crazy Flats, was built in 1912, and the second section, left of it, was built in 1914, and joined to the first with a common lobby. The low building to the left of Crazy Flats and in front of the Hotel was the Crazy Bath House and Drugstore. A fire started in the drugstore March 15, 1925, and destroyed the entire city block. The second Crazy Hotel, covering this entire city block, opened in 1927. The original Crazy Well is now situated in the sidewalk at the northwest corner of the Hotel with a cover over it. The second Crazy Hotel is now [2008] a Retirement Home. It was forcibly closed down in 2010. Also visible in the picture above the "Crazy" Complex and below the gap between West Mountain and South Mountain are the "Old High School", the "Little Rock School" and the Fourth Ward School. Four blocks behind and above the Hotel in the picture, the domed First Presbyterian Church is visible midway between the "Crazy Block" and the schools. The Roman Catholic church with its white steeple is at the far upper right, and the second Carlsbad Pavilion is across First Avenue, directly to the west (right rear) of the Crazy Flats.
[The Demolition of the Convention Hall, 2 of 5: From a Block Away]
This photograph was taken at an early stage of the demolition of the Mineral Wells Convention Hall on N. Oak Avenue. Built in 1925 to accommodate the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention, it was constructed on the rock foundation of the electric power plant built by the owner of the Hexagon Hotel to light the city (presumably with DC electricity). The Hexagon Hotel, Mineral Wells' first electrically-lighted hotel, stood on the vacant corner lot in the foreground of this picture. It was torn down in 1959. When the Convention Hall was torn down in 1975, a member of the demolition crew said the new owner of the former London Bridge (to be re-erected at Havasu City in Arizona)was interested in acquiring the rocks to build the foundation for a fort to be constructed at the same site. (One local story credits that interest in the foundation stones as the reason for the demolition of the Convention Hall.)
[The Welcome Sign]
The WELCOME Sign (shown here) was fostered in 1922 by George Holmgren, the Texas Rotary Club's Governor, following a convention of the Rotary Club in Mineral Wells. The twelve-foot letters were built in Mr. Holmgren's San Antonio iron works by Mr. James Calvert, who was 17 years old when he and his father were commissioned to forge the letters. Mr. Calvert had played trumpet in the "F" troop cavalry as well as playing in the Frank Bird Orchestra in the Baker Hotel. Mr. Holmgren then gave the sign to the people of Mineral Wells with the understanding that they would maintain what was, at the time, the world's largest non-commercial lighted sign. The original incandescent bulbs were later replaced with lower-maintenance red neon lights by the Mineral Wells Jaycees. A Warrant Officer Company from Fort Wolters moved the sign from its original site on East Mountain to the east side of Bald Mountain (now called Welcome Mountain), overlooking Elmwood Cemetery, in 1972. It remains there today [2008], lighted at its base with flood lights, to greet visitors coming from the east. This is a picture, taken in 1972, of the restored sign.
[A Supervisor at the Crazy Bottling/Crystals Plant]
Identifying information on this photograph is lacking, but it appears to portray a supervisor in the Crazy Bottling/Crystals Plant catching up on the paperwork produced by a day's business.
[The Demolition of the Convention Hall--1 of 5: Front View]
The metal framework of the Mineral Wells Convention Hall is all that it readily visible during its demolition in 1975/1976. Built on the rock foundation of the Electric Plant that Galbraith had erected in order (Unsuccessfully, it is guessed) to light the city. The Convention Hall was built for the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention in 1925. It served as the site of numerous local functions including High School Graduation Exercises. The landmark Hexagon Hotel, Mineral Wells' first electrically-lighted hotel, stood on the vacant corner lot in the left foreground of this picture from 1897 to 1959.
[The Crazy Hotel After the Fire of 1925]
A handwritten note on the back of the photograph identifies the picture as "Crazy Hotel southside [sic] after fire of March 15, 1925." Shown is the skeleton of the first Crazy Hotel, after a fire destroyed the entire Crazy "complex." The original hotel complex consisted of the two adjoined hotel sections with a common lobby, the Crazy Flats (a drinking pavilion with rooms for rent), a Bath House, and a drugstore (in which the fire started). The second Crazy Hotel opened two years later, in 1927. It covers the entire city block formerly occupied by the complex which it replaced. The famous second Crazy Hotel of the booming 1930's and 1940's is now [2008] a retirement hotel that was forcibly closed down in 2010.
[The Thurber Tipple and Thurber Monument]
Photograph of buildings in Thurber, Texas, taken from a parking lot. A gasoline station is on the left; it has a second story serving as an overhang as well as a taller platform with a railing and the words "Thurber Tipple" written near the roof. A car is parked at the gasoline station and a couple is looking inside the engine. The Thurber smokestack is visible near the center of the photograph and several unidentified buildings are on the left. Three other cars are parked on the left side of the photograph.
[A Group of Hikers]
This photograph shows group of two young men and six ladies on an outing in 1905. Note the walking "canes" held by several of the ladies. They appear to be resting at the souvenir photograph stand on the mountain trail about half-way to the top of East Mountain. Hiking to the top of East Mountain was a popular pastime for health seekers in the "City Built on Water" around the turn of the century.
[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..
[Panoramic Photograph of Mineral Wells]
Panoramic photograph of Mineral Wells taken from Southwest Mountain looking southeast. The ice plant is visible in the right center of this picture, but other landmarks have not been identified.
[Downtown Mineral Wells, Texas : January 11, 1919]
Downtown Mineral Wells, Texas is shown here, as taken on January 11, 1919. The first Crazy Hotel is the prominent building in the right middle portion of the picture. The first Roman Catholic Church can be seen on the side of West Mountain in the upper middle of the picture and the old High School, the "Little Rock School", and the West Ward School are at the base of West Mountain in the far upper left part of the picture. The Dr. A.W. Thompson home is at the foot of East Mountain in the lower middle foreground of the picture. The wide street in the left middle of the picture is NW 2nd Street, looking west. The First Presbyterian Church is the domed building on the right of 2nd Street at NW 4th Avenue, near the far end of NW 2nd Street.
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