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ROOMS
WITH A PAST - TEXAS HOTELS BUILT BEFORE 1950
by
Bob Hopkins
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Crazy
Water Hotel and Crazy Water Crystals
Postcard courtesy of Byran Black |
Ghosts
It is quite possible
that some of residents of the "good times" may not have gone on. In
the early 1990's, reconstruction of the kitchen area on the first
floor took place. Since that time the figure of a small child has
been seen on many occasions.
Amy Harris, an employee of the Crazy Water reported that one morning
in 1994, she was in the kitchen panning bacon for the residents at
breakfast when suddenly, just to her left, stood a little girl in
an old fashioned pink frilly dress with white stockings standing with
her hands perched on the side of the table watching Amy at work. Amy
said she was there for just a few seconds and suddenly disappeared.
Then at Christmas, 1999, Amy was entering the kitchen area from the
dining room when she was suddenly overcome with a cold chill as if
something "passed right through her".
Isabel Hernandez, another Crazy Water employee stated that a little
girl's spirit, who has called her "Dizzy", a nickname that only her
family knows, frequently follows her around in the kitchen. On another
occasion she felt someone touch her while she was serving food in
the serving line. She said at first the little ghost scared her but
over the years she has gotten use to it.
Another employee by the name of Walter has reported hearing the little
girl sobbing in the basement and then upon investigating the cries
felt a cold spot in the area where he heard the sounds originating
from.
Joyce Landon, another Crazy Water employee, claims she too has seen
a little girl playing in the kitchen area, as has Linda Ruiz who reported
in April 2000 saw a man in the kitchen wearing a long trench coat
as if he walked out of the 1930' or 1940's. He too was there for just
a short time and then vanished.
Several of the employees have heard the sounds of voices and of the
little girl in the basement area located just under the kitchen. Curtis,
the maintenance man reported seeing the little girl near the elevators
in the basement. The basement area is part of the old Crazy Water
Hotel that burned down in 1925 and the old brick walls still bear
the charred remains of the original building.
Who, exactly, could these spirits be? No one seems to know. The building
has been here for 75 years and it is almost impossible to know all
the stories that took place here but one thing is for sure, these
"ghosts" have been seen by several witnesses and didn't seem to be
here before the reconstruction of the kitchen area. Whatever the cause
or who ever the people are it is for sure that something strange is
going on in the kitchen of the historic Crazy Water Hotel in downtown
Mineral Wells.
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Wells Hotels > Book Your Hotel
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The
Crazy Water Hotel (c. 1927) in Mineral Wells
TE Postcard Archives |
Crazy Water
Hotel - Background
By 1873, the Indian
depredations had all but ended throughout north central Texas opening
the door for many settlers to move westward. Most of those that came
were people who had nothing left back east and believed the new lands
in Texas could provide their families with opportunities never before
offered.
One of these brave folks was a man by the name of James A. Lynch who
moved his family into a valley nestled between the beautiful hills
of Palo Pinto County about 45 miles west of Fort Worth.
One day Mr. Lynch was digging a well on his property to provide badly
needed water to his family, crops, and livestock. Upon completion
of the well the Lynch's discovered the water to be too foul smelling
to be drinkable. After some time; however, Mrs. Lynch began to taste
the smelly water and claimed that it cured her arthritis.
The Lynch's discovered the water to be enriched with minerals, lending
it prime medicinal value for the time. It didn't take long for the
word to get out among the few locals that the waters had "healing"
powers.
By 1888, a third well was dug. It was from this well that a demented
woman would sometimes drink. Those who knew her claimed she had regained
her sanity from drinking the miraculous water. It was at this time
that a few of the local children began to call well No. 3 "the Crazy
Water Well". After time the word "Well" was dropped and the named
"Crazy Water" was coined and the official town of "Ednaville"
was established but later changed its name to "Mineral Wells".
By the early 1900's Mineral Wells was on its way to becoming a national
health resort as bath houses and spas popped up all over the valley.
People were coming by the hundreds every week to bath in or drink
the healing waters.
Many accommodations such as hotels and boarding houses were springing
up everywhere. In 1912 the city saw the need for a luxury hotel and
decided to build one on the sight of old well No. 3, hence; the "Crazy
Water Hotel" was born. The four-story structure was completed
in 1914 and operated until March 1925 when a tragic fire completely
destroyed the hotel.
Two Years later, two Dallas businessman, Carr and Hal Collins, rebuilt
a new seven story structure on the sight of the old one, keeping the
same name, the new structure had two complete bathhouses located in
the basement, electric elevators, a huge and lavish lobby, 200 rooms,
and a spacious enclosed pavilion of semi Moorish design.
The Crazy Water Hotel was a beautiful sight during the 1920's and
1930's as over 100,000 people a year visited the city for the mineral
waters. At the end of the 1940's the days of the mineral waters were
numbered and Mineral Wells would never enjoy the fabulous times that
it saw earlier in the century. By the 1980's many of the old hotels
and boarding houses had either burned down, fallen down, or were simply
tore down but the old Crazy Water survived and was converted into
a retirement center and remains so to this day.
July 2002
© Bob Hopkins, Weatherford
Mineral
Wells Hotels > Book Your Hotel
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Author's
Note:
I am a professional Firefighter with a degree in Fire science and
a certified Fire Investigator, therefore, I believe just about everything
can be explained if one looks hard enough. That was before I began
to research a few north Texas ghost stories that are difficult to
explain.
I have researched about 30 north Texas haunts, many of which have
never before been documented or researched. They range from the hauntings
of the old Baker and Crazy Water hotels in Mineral Wells to a haunted
plantation near Tyler. I have researched each as to the best of my
ability for authenticity and historical accuracy. I would be more
than happy to share some of my research with (your readers). Thank
you very much. - Bob Hopkins, Weatherford. |
Crazy Water
Hotel Forum
Subject:
Crazy Water Hotel Ghosts
I came across
this site while searching for pictures of Mineral Wells, Texas,
in the 1930s and 1940s, and I love all the information I came across.
My family is from Mineral Wells, and my great-grandmother lived
there up until her death in 2002. She was a resident of the Crazy
Water Hotel for several years, and I loved the feeling of the old
building. Every time I would visit, there would always be a bit
of playtime downstairs in the enormous lobby, and then a trip to
the roof to explore.
Downstairs, taped to the windows of a room off the main lobby, are
photographs of the "Crazy Gang" and a few celebrities who had visited
the hotel. I loved the old photos, and always spent a few minutes
looking at them. Once or twice, while standing in the area, though
on different occasions, I felt a sudden surge of cold air hit me.
I remember feeling as if something had passed right through me,
but brushed the thought aside.
During one trip to the roof, I was looking out a window, down onto
the street. I am not absolutely certain, but as far as I can tell,
this area had been the hotel's ballroom. As I stood at the window,
I thought I saw the figure of a woman in a long red, 1930s style
dress. I turned, but the figure was gone. The rest of my family
was outside, on the rooftop terrace at the time, ruling all of them
out as the image I saw. Also, the elevators had not opened since
I had been upstairs. I was certain that my mind was playing tricks
on me. But who knows? Perhaps it was a ghost.
I'm a bit of a skeptic, but with all the excitement that the Crazy
once possessed, why wouldn't the building hold that spirit today?
It seems reasonable. After all the past never fades completely;
some how a memory of it will always linger. Perhaps a few hotel
guests are just a part of the fabulous memory of the Crazy Water
Hotel. - (Name withheld by request, September 22, 2004
I have never
seen the little girl in the story. But once a few months ago, while
working in the basement, I thought I saw something red pass by the
doorway down the hall. I am not prepared to call it a ghost, but
I was the only one there and upon checking the elevator was on an
upper floor, so no one else could have been there. - Sincerely,
Richard Curtis, Lead Maintenance
Great to come
across your website. I googled you up when I became curious about
the background of a framed postcard I had hanging on the office
door in Jakarta, where I've lived since 1988 (UT Class of '62, Linguistics).
It shows the 7-story building with a sign on the roof reading, sure
enough, "Crazy Water Hotel". The "Crazy" has a cursive style like
the original Coca-Cola logo. Floating in the sky above the hotel
is a sinister green and white box reading "Crazy Water Crystals".
I tend to doubt they are on the market any longer, alas. Great job
you guys are doing. I'll be rooting around your sites some more.
Would you also be kind enough to forward this note to Bob Hopkins,
as an appreciation? Thanks. - Byron Black Copywriter, Media Producer
& Teacher, Jakarta, Indonesia, September 12, 2002
Mineral
Wells Hotels > Book Your Hotel
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Getting There
MINERAL WELLS, TEXAS
US 281 - 90 miles South of Wichita
Falls
US 180 - 48 miles West of Fort
Worth,
80 miles West of Dallas
Tourist Information
Mineral Wells Chamber of Commerce
511 E. Hubbard St., Mineral Wells, Texas 76068
(1-800-252-MWTX)
See Mineral
Wells
Mineral
Wells Hotels > Book Your Hotel
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We were
glad to receive a letter from Bob Hopkins of Weatherford since we
consider Mineral Wells to be one of the more under-appreciated cities
in Texas. Mr. Hopkins' article provides an excellent historical backdrop
for his reports on the sightings/ visitations at the Crazy Water Hotel.
The original Crazy Water Well gave birth to a variety of businesses
in Mineral Wells. There was the Crazy Drugstore, the Crazy Laundry,
the Crazy Theater and the Crazy Beauty Shop (there's a joke there
somewhere). Return with us now to an era of rooftop dancing and rooms
that were "scientifically air-conditioned."
Further information on Mineral Wells is found in Gene Fowler's excellent
1990 book: Crazy Water: The Story of Mineral Wells and Other Texas
Health Resorts (TCU Press) - Editor |
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