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Palo Pinto County Newspapers
2,184
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2,184
Ladd & Katherine Hancher Library Foundation
2,183
A. F. Weaver Collection
527
Rescuing Texas History, 2015
50
Palo Pinto County Album
47
Pictorial History of Fort Wolters
46
Rescuing Texas History, 2013
7
Texas History Collection
4
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2
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2,864 Matching Results
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[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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1882?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
December 22, 1975
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1936?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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."
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Artwork
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
October 16, 2006
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Artwork
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Artwork
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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."
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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."
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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."
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
1900?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
Katherine Brookshire Wehunt
Object Type:
Letter
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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 …
Date:
1897/1959
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
December 22, 1975
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
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.
Date:
1960?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Text
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1882?/1897?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
unknown
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1972
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1930?/1939?
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
March 15, 1925
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History
[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.
Date:
1905
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Photograph
System:
The Portal to Texas History