A (gambling) Casino at Elmhurst Park was located in southwest Mineral Wells, Texas, at the turn of the twentieth century. The structure was a large stucco building facing Elmhurst Lake (created by a dam on Pollard Creek) in the foreground. The lake was sometimes referred to as "Pollard Lake." Elmhurst Park was served by the Mineral Wells Electric Railroad (Street Car), with whom it seemed to have had a symbiotic relationship; both came into existence about 1903, and both went out of business about 1913.

The Casino, facing the lake at Elmhurst Park is shown here. For more details about it, please see the other pictures.

Patent for cotton thinning plow. Illustration included.

Shown here is a picture of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. On the back of picture is written "901 N.Oak [.] Sold to Church of Christ [.] Demolished and rebuilt." The streetcar tracks, which ran from 1907 to 1913 are visible on N. Oak in front of the church. The denomination takes its name from Cumberland Street, Philadelphia. A sub-sect of Presbyterianism--based on an Arminian interpretation of Calvinism--was begun at the church there. A Cumberland Presbyterian church is advertised as being in Newberry at the present [2014] time. The picture was taken before North Oak Avenue was paved in 1914. The Church of Christ still [2008] occupies this location on N. Oak Avenue.

Shown is a group of seven women (riding "sidesaddle" as was the fashion for women at the time), two men and a boy, all riding donkeys. A handwritten note on the photograph's mat identifies it as: "Daniel Photo 1907." The identities of the people are unknown, but the caption suggests this could have been a Daniel family outing. Riding donkeys over the "mountains" of Mineral Wells was a popular pastime of the day. The picture appears to have been taken atop East Mountain in Mineral Wells, which was a popular destination. Souvenir photographs of of the donkey trails survive from the early days. [There was a Daniel's Studio located in the 200 block of N. Oak Avenue in the early days of Mineral Wells, and this photograph is likely to have come from that collection. In which case, the group shown here could have been unrelated.]

This illustration is numbered "30". It appears to be a picture postcard of the entrance to Elmhurst Park, an amusement park on Pollard Creek, about five miles southwest of Mineral Wells. The park operated from 1907 to 1913 by the Electric Company,, and was a major attraction in "The nation's most popular health spa" at that time. A lawsuit was entered by he City of Mineral Wells in 1912 against the Electric Company by reason of the Company's refusal to pave its right-of-way for trolleys in the city streets, and to pave its right-of-way to Elmhurst Park. The company tried to remove all trolley tracks in reprisal, but continued to supply electric lights to the park--and to City Hall--by way of compromise.

This is a photograph of James Alvis Lynch, who founded Mineral Wells in 1881, is wearing a suit, sitting on a donkey, and holding a bottle of mineral water on an unknown rocky hill.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.

Sanborn map sheet showing an area of Mineral Wells in Palo Pinto County, Texas, including geographic features, buildings, and details related to risk assessment for fire insurance.