Photograph taken after the Chautauqua was demolished (that is, about 1912). The foundation can be seen in the upper right quadrant. The Post Office, completed in 1913, is visible to the right of the Chautauqua ruins. The old viewing tower on the top of the hill, destroyed by a tornado in 1930, is just barely visible in the trees on top of the hill. The first Crazy Hotel and Crazy Flats drinking pavilion, which burned in 1925, are seen one block northwest of the Post Office. The Murphy home is on top of the hill in the middle of the photograph. The Hexagon Hotel (torn down in 1959) is just above and left of the center. The Vichy Well is just to the right of the Hexagon House, and is now the location of the North Oak Community Center. In the the next block north (left) of the Hexagon House, facing west, is the Fairfield Inn with a ground-level entrance on each floor. Note the city's water tower at left center.

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. …

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 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 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.

"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.

This picture shows the First Crazy Hotel Lobby in 1913. The first Crazy Hotel was built in two sections; the first section, which contained this lobby, was built in 1912. The second section was added in 1914, and joined to the first with the two sections sharing this same sky-lighted lobby. A fire on March 15, 1925 destroyed the first Crazy Hotel along with all the other businesses in this block. The second Crazy Hotel, covering the entire city block, opened in 1927. It is now [2008] a retirement home. It was shut down--after much contention--in 2010.

A Trolley went by Standard Park and Standard Pavilion before 1913. A popular place,the Standard had a swimming pool, amphitheater, dancing and playgrounds. The North Oak Community is now at this location. Information was taken from A.F Weaver's "Time Was" second edition.

Typed under this picture is the legend: "FIFTY YEARS AGO -- Co. 1, 4th Texas Infantry, was patrolling the Mexican Border. The company's home base was in Mineral Wells. Later it was called into federal service and designated as Co. 144th Infantry, 36th Division, with combat duty in France on the Meuse-Argonne Campaign and the Argonne Forest. In the picture is the company pet donkey, about to consume a copy of the Daily Index, on the left is Bill Cameron and right is Spencer Heath. The picture was made in Marathon, Texas in 1916." Bill Cameron was employed in various capacities by the "Mineral Wells Index" newspaper for many years. At the time of his death, 1976, he was its business manager. The image of the donkey chewing on the copy of the "Index" is a favorite picture shown in the "Index" to this day [2013]. It remains the subject of raucous humor in Mineral Wells.

This picture shows the front of the first Crazy Hotel, which was destroyed by fire March 15, 1925. Built in two stages and joined together, the first (back) section was built in 1912, and the second (front) section was completed in 1914. A handwritten note on back of photograph states, "Crazy Hotel 1913. Front of Hotel Facing South Mineral Wells, Tx." This picture is included on page 15 of A.F. Weaver's book "TIME WAS...", and was probably taken before the second section of the hotel opened for business. The back of Crazy Flats (the second Crazy Water Drinking Pavilion) can be seen to the right, north of and behind the hotel in this picture.

The Standard Park not only boasted a swimming pool, but a movie theater and dancing pavilion, as well, for the entertainment of health-seekers. A trolley to it operated at 600 North Oak Street from 1907 to 1913. (Note the Kingsley Hotel above and left of the Standard, built into the side of East Mountain--later destroyed by fire.) First known as the Vichy Well and Natatorium, then later as the Beach, the Standard was torn down in World War II; and a USO Club was built here for soldiers at Camp Wolters. The USO building was given to the city after the war, and renamed the North Oak Community Center. The Crazy Water Festival Committee is currently [2003] attempting to restore the Community Center.

We have here a view from the south of Mineral Wells' High School, built in 1915 at 101 NW 5th Avenue. This side of the building faces W. Hubbard Street. The tower atop the West Ward School can be seen below the skyline, and to the left, above the high school. (The West Ward school was torn down in 1930.)

The Texas Carlsbad Well, located at 415 NW 1st Avenue (west of the Crazy Water Well and Drinking Pavilion), is shown here. A more modern brick building was added to this wooden pavilion in 1909; both structures are visible in pictures taken during a Woodmen of the World convention in 1911. (Note: The newer Carlsbad building was taken over by the Crazy Hotel for its Laundry and Dry Cleaning when the second Carlsbad Pavilion shut down operations during World War II.)

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.

Spectators are shown here, at a spring play-day frolic at Elmhurst Park around 1910. The popular park once boasted a Casino, a Dancing Pavilion, Exhibit Halls, and Outdoor Sports Fields. It hosted the County Fair and sports events until 1913. On the closure of Elmhurst Park, the City of Mineral Wells became the owner of the property. It was used for a housing development during World War II to accommodate families of soldiers and civilian workers at Camp Wolters. The City of Mineral Wells built city's water treatment facilities on the site of the former park after World War II.

This picture shows the 100 block of what is now N. Oak Avenue, looking south. The "Palace Saloon" sign is still visible in 2008. The Palo Pinto County Courthouse Annex currently [2010] occupies the building that once housed Poston's Dry Goods (just down the street from the Palace Saloon). Please note the absence of trolley tracks--or the festoon of wires required to keep its power-line in place. The unpaved street dates the photograph prior to 1914, and probably prior to the previous picture.

An inscription at the bottom of the photograph reads "Pat--Ike." The "Ike" presumably refers to Ike Zablosky, who came from Russia to Philadelphia in 1890. He and his wife, Fanny Jaffee, later moved to Mineral Wells for health reasons where he became involved in the fur-and-hide business. Zablosky once described the northwest part of Palo Pinto County as a "'Possum kingdom"; hence the first flood-control lake on the Brazos River was named Possum Kingdom Lake. (The story is that it was named that by president Franklin Roosevelt himself.) Zabloski sponsored a local baseball team. He bought a Texas League franchise when it became available after he moved to Dallas. It was to become Dallas' first professional baseball team. He pioneered the founding of city farm teams and acted as umpire and coach. The man on the left side is Pat Moran, the manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Moran managed the Reds from 1919-1923.

We have here a picture of Oak Street, looking South. The Poston Company and the Palace Saloon are easily visible in photograph. The wording "Fishburn Dallas" appears on the photograph. The unpaved street, several horses and wagons in picture date the picture to an era before 1914, when the street was paved.

An early scene of Mesquite Street (now [2008] NE 1st Avenue) looking North toward old U.S. Post Office from the corner of East Hubbard Street, after a rain? Electrical lines are present as are cars and trucks typical of the post-1914 era, when the streets of Mineral Wells were paved. The cornerstone for the Post Office was laid in May, 1912. The building on the near right housed Campbell's Bargain store. It occupied the site of the current Baker Hotel (Opened in 1929.)

Shown here is a view of Mesquite Street (Now [2008] NE First Avenue) from its upper end at Coke Street (now NE 2nd Street). Horse-drawn vehicles are present. The building at the left middle of the picture with the "DRUGS" sign and the stone lion statue on its roof is the Yeager Building, home of what was popularly called "The Lion Drug Store." The first building on right, 205 NE First Street (with arched windows) was H. M. Coleman's clothing store for men, which even at this early date, appears to be undergoing renovation.

"Sllew La Renim" (a social club) was "Mineral Wells" spelled backwards. Its members pose in front of the Old Post Office in 1913. Identified in the photograph are: Anna Mae Guinn, Ernestine Pollard, May Belle Smith, Ann Locke Galbraith, Ruby Andrews, Mattie Withers. Note the Mineral Wells Sanitarium in the left background. This photograph may be found on page 118 of "TIME WAS...", First Edition by A.F. Weaver.

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.

An early view of Oak Street (now Oak Avenue), looking North is shown here. The first intersecting road is Hubbard Street. Part of the Oxford Hotel is visible on the southeast corner of Hubbard and Oak. Please note the utter lack of street lights. Street car tracks and an overhead cable run on Oak. Mineral Wells Electric System (Street Car) ceased operation in 1913. The downtown streets were paved in 1914. A hardware store, possibly Davidson's, is on the southwest corner of Hubbard and Oak.

The Carlisle House was owned and managed by Mrs. A[lexander] E[mmett] Carlisle, after the death of her husband in 1911. It was one of the largest hotels of its day, boasting sixty rooms. It was destroyed in a fire on July 4, 1914. The Abilene "Reporter" of July 5, 1914 reports that fire began its course at the Tourist Hotel (located, at the time, at 315 NW 4th street). It spread to the New Hazel Hotel (at 305 NW 4th Street), took in the Harrel House, (at 301 NW 4th street), the Lake Charles, Louisiana (511 NW 2nd Street), and the Burk House, 601 NW 3rd Avenue, as well as seven houses that were not hotels. The fire was so thorough that in 1921, the area was still devoid of buildings. It was on this site that Mordecai Ham (he who converted Billy Graham) put up a tent for a revival on March 23, 1927. He accepted the position of pastor at the First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City on June 19, 1927. He remained in that position until June 16, 1929, when he returned to the revival circuit. The Carlisle House was located in the same block as the …