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[Fishing at Lake Mineral Wells]
Fishermen stand below a cataract of the spillway of Lake Mineral Wells. The photograph was taken in 1938. On the reverse of the picture is the and-written legend: Picture taken by A. F. Weaver. This picture is featured in "Time Was in Mineral Wells...." on page 112.
[Five Women on a Bridge]
The bridge shown here once spanned a stream in downtown Mineral Wells. It was channelized along the northbound Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railroad. The same women may be seen in the photograph "Women in Truck."
[Formation of OH-23 Helicopters]
Illustrated in this photograph is a formation of OH-23 Helicopters, presumably at Fort Wolters. Information in regard to the occasion of their flight, or any other data on the helicopters,is unfortunately lacking.
[The Foster Hotel]
A note on the back of this picture identifies it as the Foster House. The 1907 Polk's directory lists it at (202 West Moore" (202 NW 6th Street ), two blocks north of the Crazy Well) and facing 6th Street. The proprietress is given as "Mrs. Sallie Cock." It was one block west of the Hexagon House, and within two blocks of other wells. The style of the building appears to be Queen Anne, spindle-work sub-type, with paired gables. The number "2231" is written on the photograph. A railroad ran a main trunk line on the west side of the hotel's block. The Foster House (as it was called) was built just before 1902. Mrs. Sallie Cock was born in 1861 in Fayette, Texas. She married Robert H. Lett in 1886. She married Dr. Lewis Cock in 1898. She had three children by him. She died in Blanco, Texas in 1950.
[The Founder of Mineral Wells - Portrait]
This unlabeled photograph appears to be of Judge J. A. Lynch and his third wife, Armanda Sweeny Lynch, possibly at a family reunion. Judge James Alvis Lynch was the founder of Mineral Wells. No identification of the people (numbered) around them appears to survive.
[Four Golfers at Mineral Wells Country Club - 1930's]
Four unidentified men in golfing knickers (apparently from the early 1930's, to judge by their dress) stand in front of, and across the lake from the original Holiday Hills Country Club house. They are putting on what is now the Number 12 green.
[Garett & Walton Cold Drinks & Sandwiches]
Shown here are Bill Garrett (left) and Walter Dalton (right), proprietors of Garrett & Walton Cold Drinks & Sandwiches. It was once located at 110 Southeast 1st Street. The picture was taken around 1920. It may be seen in "Time Was in Mineral Wells" on page 128.
[A Gazebo in West Park]
A gazebo, built during the 1970-1980's era, is visible through the trees in West City Park. The park is located on US highway 180 (Hubbard Street) where Pollard Creek crosses it--west of downtown Mineral Wells, Texas.
[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.
[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.]
[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.
[A Group of men at Inspiration Point]
A group of businessmen and ranchers are shown at Inspiration Point in the 1920's. From left, they are (unknown); Mr. Henry Penix; Mr. Bowman; Mssrs. Henry and Charlie Fowler. Note the spurs on the boots of the Fowlers, and the cigars in the hands of Mssrs. Penix and Bowman. Inspiration Point, overlooking the Brazos in Southeast Palo Pinto County about ten miles south of Mineral Wells, commands a vast panoramic view of the rugged river valley stretching for miles below the viewer. It was a noted scenic attraction during the heyday of one of America's most popular health resorts. Inspiration Point is not available to the general public at this time, as it is located on private property.
[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.
A Hazy View of Mineral Wells
Photograph of the city of Mineral Wells, Texas, taken from a hill looking down at the buildings.
[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]
The Hexagon Hotel at 701 N. Oak Avenue, opened in December 1897. The brick building to the right was the Convention Hall (built in 1925 on the foundation of the Hotel's electric plant) for the West Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention. The Hexagon Hotel was demolished in 1959, the Convention Center in 1977.
[The Hexagon Hotel]
The Hexagon Hotel was built in 1895 by David G. Galbraith, the inventor of the paper clip (not the familiar one, but another one very much like it) , and co-developer of acetate synthetic fiber. According to Ellen Puerzer ("The Octagon House Inventory", Eight-Square Publishing, copyright 2011), the building was twelve-sided, clad with clapboard, built on a stone foundation. Two English stonemasons did all stonework, presumably also the work on the DC generating plant next to the hotel. The rooms within were hexagon-shaped, with a bath being shared between every two rooms. The top floor was a reading room--popular at the time. The well-ventilated "honeycomb" structure (a master-stroke in the days before air-conditioning)opened in December 1897. The stone building behind and left of the Hotel is the plant for generating electricity used for light and fans (for a fee) in every room in the hotel. It also contained a steam laundry and an ice house on the first floor. The second floor was given over to a dining room for the hotel guests.
[The Hexagon Hotel]
A large group of people, most sitting on donkeys, are shown out front of the Hexagon Hotel. Donkeys were used to transport visitors to the top of East Mountain for an overview of the City of Mineral Wells. It appears the party in this picture is preparing for such a trip. The Caldwell family ran the Hexagon Hotel as a boarding house for a while, hence the sign on the second floor of the building. H. L. Milling and his father also ran the hotel for a while, too. The building visible behind the hotel is the DC generating plant that supplied electricity to illuminate the building.
[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.
[A High School Coronation, 1947]
The High School Coronation of 1947 had its picture taken in the Convention Hall. The photograph was taken by Du-Caan Studios, Mineral Wells, Texas. The people involved--with two possible exceptions--are not known. [written on the back in pencil: Barbara Bowman Barbara Weaver]
[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.
[A Horse-Drawn Fire Wagon]
Photograph of a horse-drawn fire wagon, pulled by two white horses and driven by a man.
[A House at 401 NW 4th Avenue]
This picture gives a better view of the house shown in the succeeding photograph. It was taken in June of 1974. The house was built by P.E. Bock.
[A House at 401 NW 4th Avenue]
A home at 401 NW 4th Avenue taken June 1974 is illustrated here. The house was built by P.E. Bock, in what appears to be Colonial Revival style.
[A House at 1004 SW 10th Street]
This photograph affords a wider view of the house shown in the previous picture. It is of eclectic style, with Prairie, and Neoclassical elements. A telephone book dated 1940 lists it as the address of Alvin Maddox.
[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.
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.
[In Front of the Schoolhouse, ca. 1885]
The back of this photograph shows three notes: 1: "Taken in front of school house about 1885." (This photograph appears to be of the students and teachers of Mineral Wells' first public school, the "Little Rock Schoolhouse," built in 1884.) 2: "Donated by James H. Perry", and 3: "Some are dead. Some are married, and we are all scattered, never to meet on earth again." The school illustrated here was built in 1886, and a Mr. R.E. Hendry took up teaching duties--after he was almost single-handed in having the building set up. Land was procured in 1884, and stones from Rock Creek were provided, and cut at the construction site to make Mineral Wells' first permanent school building. It was a band hall, a choral hall, a gymnasium, and a storage place after it was a school. It now is the home of the Mineral Wells Heritage Society.
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 of the Crazy Water Bottling Plant]
Handwriting on the back of this photograph identifies it as "Crazy Fiz 1930s" It is a section of the Crazy Water Bottling Plant, where carbon dioxide appears to have been added to the mineral water in order to compete with the popular soft drinks of the era. Note the bottling machine in the right foreground of the picture. Women are packing the carbonated "fizz water" for shipment.
[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.
[Jarmon Alvis Lynch and Wife]
A photograph of Jarmon Alvis Lynch and his wife, taken October 1, 1977. He was the grandson J. A. Lynch, the founder of Mineral Wells. He is shown standing on the steps of the Rock School House (in Mineral Wells)in this 1977 photograph, and holding his drawing of the Lynch cabins, which also shows the drilling rig his grandfather used to dig the first mineral well.
[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.
[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.
[Judy Garland in Mineral Wells]
This picture, found on page 161 of "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver, identifies the man selling a money order to Judy Garland in the Old Post Office (on NE 2nd Street) as D. C. Harris. The man on the right is identified as W. A. Ross. It has since [2102] been determined that the reason for Miss Garland's presence in the post Office was to lead a procession of children there in order to purchase Defense Stamps.
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