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.)

Shown here is the middle photograph of three that are arranged on pages 40 and 41 of A. F. Weaver's book, "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells", to create the "Earliest known panoramic view of Mineral Wells around 1882." It was taken from East Mountain looking to the southwest. The photograph includes the center of today's [2008] downtown Mineral Wells. A large white two-story building is shown at the left center of the picture on West Hubbard Street, at the site of the (later) Southern Hotel. The building at the far left edge of the picture occupies on the site of the current Mineral Wells Fire and Police Departments in the 200 block of South Oak Avenue.

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.

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 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.

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.

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 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.

This photograph,labeled "A July Crowd", shows a ladies' gathering about 1920. The photograph shows what is possibly a tea party or a ladies' club meeting. Some of the ladies shown were members of prominent Mineral Wells families. Identified in a typed note - and graph - accompanying the photograph are: (starting at back left) the 4th lady is Mrs. D. G. Galbraith [wife of the owner of the Hexagon House], the 8th is Mrs. E. F. Yeager [wife of Dr. E.F. Yeager, Pharmacist/ Owner of the Lion Drug Store), 16th is Mrs. J.H. McCracken [wife Dr. J.H. McCracken, president of the Texas Medical Association], 17th may be Mrs. Raines (Mrs. McCracken's mother); (middle row, starting in front of Mrs. Yeager) the second from left is Mrs. Dr. Beeler; (first row from left) the 3rd lady may be Mrs. Coon, the 6th lady is Mrs. Paul Bock, the 8th is Mrs. Reba Williams. The children in front are Langdon Bock on the left and Elizabeth Galbraith on the right. There were forty people in total.

Many property owners in early Mineral Wells had their own water wells, but the city pumped water to a small standpipe on East Mountain for distribution to the city. When the wells became insufficient to supply the city's needs, Barber Lake 9it was later named "Lake Pinto) was built in the Barber Addition--in the northeast part of town--as Mineral Wells' first city water supply lake. Around 1905, Cicero Smith and Ed Dismuke built a dam across Pollard Creek west of the city to form Lake Pinto, the city's next water supply. Barber Lake, the City's first municipal water supply, can still be found southeast of Cullen Grimes School (built in 1920 at 1800 Northeast 1st. Avenue as Barber School, the name was changed to Cullen Grimes School in honor of a long-time principal when it was enlarged in 1942.)

A trail ride, going up East Mountain on burros, is pictured here. The participants listed on back of picture are: "Jessie Padgett - Dallas, Mr. Oscar Levin, Miss [unidentified], Mr. Coy Wimberly - Tyler, Miss [unidentified], Miss Burriss - Terrel, Mr. Jacobs - Atlanta, Lilian Webster - Dallas, Raymond Caruth - Dallas, Johnetta Armstrong - Dallas, Mr. Cousins - Tyler, Maggie Street - Dallas, Katie Elliott - Dallas, Miss Hyman - Min. Wells, Mr. Nance - Dallas, Mr. Brown - Tyler, Mary Roberts - Terrel, Will Caruty - Dallas. Mineral Wells, June 11, 1901." Burro rides on the Donkey Trail up East Mountain were a popular pastime around the turn of the twentieth century.

A caption, taken from "Time Was..." by A. F. Weaver, on page 116 states: "Pictured in 1908 is Frank Richards, owner of the first motorcycle bought in Mineral Wells. D. C. Harris owned the second motorcycle." Frank Richards was the manager of the Star Well during Mineral Wells' heyday as a popular health spa, and the boy on the motorbike with him has been identified as his son, Robert Frank Richards. D. C. Harris was the postmaster, and served as Mayor of the city at one time.

A copy of this photograph may be found in A. F. Weaver's, "TIME WAS In Mineral Wells", First Edition, on page 151. The caption reads, "Mary Berta Perry, granddaughter of Mayor Laverty, 1908." Jim Laverty was the first City Marshall of Mineral Wells. He was elected mayor when the City was first incorporated in 1882. The first incorporation was defeated by vote in 1894, and Mineral Wells was reincorporated with G.C. Green as the first elected mayor. This picture was the style of souvenir photograph which local photographer J. C. McClure, first owner of the donkeys, took on an East Mountain path frequented by visitors. Mr. McClure was killed while riding a wild stallion on Oak Avenue. J. L. Young and his wife later owned the photography studio and the donkeys. They later built a log cabin as a scenic backdrop at a photograph stop where the donkey trail crossed a footpath up West Mountain.

A view from West Mountain looking ESE, contains the following landmarks: The Hexagon Hotel (1895-1959) in the upper middle of the picture, and the Chautauqua (1905-1912) in the upper right. One block right (south) and one block this side (west) of the Chautauqua is Crazy Flats Drinking Pavilion (burned in 1925). The Sangura- Sprudel Well and Drinking Pavilion is below and left (one block north and one block west) of The Hexagon. The Fairfield Inn is one block plus north and east (left) of the Hexagon and about half way up East Mountain. The Vichy Well (Later known as The Beach and still later as the Standard Well) is on the right, and across the street from the Hexagon. It was later the location of the USO building in World War II, and is now [2006] the North Oak Community Center.

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.

This photograph appears to have been given to A. W. Weaver with the following information on the back of it: "Wasn't it Whittier who said 'Still stately stands the old school house, beside the babbling brook'?--well this one no longer stands. It was a firm & strong old building when they tore it down 4 years ago. I thought you would cherish this picture as a fond recollection of yours, mine & Hugh's school days & days of happy childhood, where, as we romped & played barefoot in the soft sands & green grass, we were not as yet familiar with the hidden stones & thorns that one encounters down the highway of life. "All the sheet metal contained in the top of this building including the tin roof was made & fabricated by Papa in Grandpa's store. The metal work consists of the ornamental cornice fittings, the steeples at each corner of the building, metal banisters on the roof top, pinnacles around cupolas, flag pole with large metal ball on top & all drain piping and roof ventilators. "The barren oak trees in the yard are very familiar. Far to the right, not shown in the picture were several …

The West Ward School is shown with "Dinky Car" tracks in foreground. The picture was taken around 1909. The first Mineral Wells School with a graduating class, built in 1902, it was located just north of Little Rock School on NW 5th Avenue. Mineral Wells' first High School graduation class, consisted of four students in 1903, as evinced by a photograph in "Time Was...", page 189. It was later named "Houston School" in 1915. The West Ward School was subsequently torn down. Another school, constructed on SW 4th Avenue, was then named "Houston School."

This aerial photograph is adjacent to, and south of, the previous photograph. It is taken from South Mountain, looking east-south-east. The Chautauqua is on the upper left of the picture. The Crazy Flats Drinking Pavilion (which burned March 15, 1925) is below and to the right of the Chautauqua. The area in foreground is a residential area of west Mineral Wells, Texas.

A note on the back of the picture identifies this scene as being at Elmhurst Park. The rails on either side indicate that this is a photograph of a race track. There is a chalk circle in the middle of the track, and a companion picture shows this circle being used for shot-put/discus competition. The spectator in the left foreground is leaning into the track to get a better look at a runner approaching the finish line at the far end of the track.

This photograph, printed in A.F. Weaver's "TIME WAS IN Mineral Wells..." on page 88, illustrates a display of fruit jars at the Mineral Wells Fair, held at the Dancing Pavilion at Elmhurst Park. Canned fruits and vegetables were customarily entered in Palo Pinto County's annual fall harvest fair. Elmhurst Park hosted the fair, among other popular events during its heyday. The popularity of personal automobile transportation made transit by street car unprofitable by 1913, and the park closed shortly after the street cars were discontinued. The City of Mineral Wells' water treatment facilities are now located in the southwest part of town, on the former Elmhurst Park property.

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 …

"Mr. & Mrs. R.S. Dalton on their 50th Wedding Anniversary as held in the second wooden structure of the First Baptist Church. Presiding is The Reverend Mr. Harlan Matthews." Robert (Bob) Dalton's father, Marcus L. Dalton, was killed by Indians on the Ft. Worth-Ft. Belknap military road in northeastern Palo Pinto County in 1870. Bob Dalton discovered the Dalton Oil Field on his ranch in north central Palo Pinto County, and the boom town that sprang up there was named Dalton City after him. He later moved to southwest Mineral Wells before building a large home, adorned with native rock, on 2101 NW 4th Avenue.

Information on the back of the photograph states: "Games (pole vaulting) at Elmhurst Park two miles southwest of Mineral Wells where [the] sewage treatment plant is now located. Picture taken around 1910."

A view from East Mountain, looking down on Mineral Wells and taken about 1910, includes: The First United Methodist Church, the Yeager Building, and the train depot in the background. This photograph was taken before the Baker Hotel was built.