Mineral Wells Turned Drinking Water Into a Night Out

Mineral Wells began with water that tasted bad and came with a good story. J. A. Lynch moved his family to the site in 1877, and a well drilled in 1880 produced water they initially feared might be poisonous. Old accounts said Lynch's rheumatism improved after he drank it. That was a testimonial, not proof, but it gave the new town a business plan.

The water trade grew into far more than standing at a pump. Pavilions served mineral water while offering movies, dances, gardens, reading rooms, games, bowling alleys, and skating rinks. Bathhouses expanded too. In 1919, a Crazy Water Crystals plant began shipping concentrated mineral-water crystals around the country.

That is the fun part of the name Mineral Wells: the wells shaped both the map label and the way people spent an evening. The old cure claims should stay in the past, but the pavilions, bathhouses, and resort buildings show how deeply a strange-tasting well organized the town.