Lake Mineral Wells and West Texas

Fun stops

In my most recent post, I talked about visits to Colleyville, Texas, to see Barred Owls and Bluebonnets. In conjunction with those two trips, I made some stops in Texas and New Mexico that are worth mentioning. This post deals with Texas; the next, New Mexico.

Lake Mineral Wells State Park

Some cool rock picnic areas

Scott and I visited Lake Mineral Wells State Park & Trailway on a cold, foggy morning in February. Just 45 minutes west of Fort Worth, the park seems wild and remote, especially during the non-tourist season. I suspect it might be a different story on a hot, sunny day in the summer.

A foggy day

Lake Mineral Wells State Park is east of the Brazos River and the Palo Pinto Mountains (I am always surprised that Texas has mountains). It sits on Rock Creek, a large tributary of the Brazos, in an area that was home to several Native American tribes, including the Comanche. 

The area was settled by white people starting in the early 1850s, resulting in intermittent warfare until the late 1870s. 

The lush native grasses attracted many early-day ranchers, including Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving and C. C. Slaughter, who ran large herds of Longhorn cattle. The area remains a big cattle ranching area.

Baker Hotel

Beginning in the 1880s, Mineral Wells became a world-renowned health resort because of the supposed healing effects of the local well water.

In the 1920s, the Mineral Wells locals became concerned that non-citizens were profiting from the community's mineral water. 

So, they raised $150,000 to begin construction of a health resort, which they asked Texas hotel magnate Theodore Baker to spearhead. Completed in 1929 just as the stock market crashed, the $1.2 million 14-story hotel boasted the first swimming pool built at a hotel in Texas, 450 guest rooms, two ballrooms, an in-house beauty shop, a bowling alley and a gymnasium. 

Baker Hotel postcard featuring the Olympic-sized pool

Despite the timing of its opening, the hotel was very successful throughout the 1930s, largely due to Mineral Wells’ reputation as a top-tier health spa destination. But, advances in modern medication and the discovery of antibiotics slowly chipped away at the hotel’s “curative” business. 

Camp Wolters

The hotel enjoyed a resurgence in 1940 when Camp Wolters (eventually Fort Wolters), home to the largest infantry placement in World War II, opened in Mineral Wells. During that time, the population of the town increased from 6,000 to nearly 30,000 and a large number of these new permanent and temporary residents lived at the Baker Hotel. 

After the war ended in 1945, Fort Wolters was closed, and business declined steadily until the hotel closed in 1963. It re-opened in 1965 but closed permanently in 1972;

Haunted?

I mention all this because this cavernous building dominates Mineral Wells and piqued my curiosity about why such a huge empty building would sit in such a small town. I didn’t take a picture – my mistake. 

But, I found the whole thing to be quite interesting. I guess I just don't know my Texas history -- Mineral Wells is actually famous for being the home of the Baker.

Plans have been underway since 2010 to renovate and restore the hotel. It still looks pretty rough right now. By the way, it has been featured on several ghost-hunting television shows!

Current Baker Hotel, Photo: Urban Ghosts

Back to the park: as Mineral Wells grew, the city increased its water supply by raising the height of the dam. But, in 1963, the city stopped using Lake Mineral Wells as its main source of water. In 1975, after the closure of Fort Wolters, the city of Mineral Wells and Fort Wolters donated the lake and surrounding acreage to Texas Parks and Wildlife and the 3,282.5-acre park opened in 1981.

A moody look

It is surprisingly hilly, even featuring rock-climbing areas. We didn't see many animals -- a few fast-flying tiny birds that I couldn't identify, some Dark-Eyed Juncos and a White-Tailed Deer that was there and gone ...

Deer

And, on this quiet, foggy day, it was almost magical.

An interesting place

West Texas

On our way home from our first trip, we stopped to visit former business associate and friend Curtis Jenkins and his wife, Jana. I didn’t take any photos of the visit, which mainly consisted of catching up and reminiscing – coupled with some chicken-fried steak and a quick tour of their hometown of San Angelo. It’s always nice to spend time with special people and I doubt that there are many people who are as special as Curtis and Jana.

As we headed home from San Angelo, we saw a lot of the nothing that is west Texas, but we did encounter some small flocks of Sandhill Cranes along the route. That’s always a treat.

Sandhill Cranes

We also went out of our way to stop a Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge only to find there is no longer a lake – and, as a result, no wildlife. Oh, well …

Trip date: February 18, 2018