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North Texas Star
March 2015

ALSO INSIDE:
H Chasing Our Tales to Alleyton, C.S.A


SERENITY

ESTATES

was built with love – and trust

H Outdoors Along the Brazos
What’s in a name?
H Ride’n the rails to Mineral Wells

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 2

North Texas Star

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 3

PUBLISHER
Jeff Smith
[email protected]

4

OUTDOORS ALONG THE BRAZOS
What’s in a name?
By Don Price

to Alleyton, C.S.A.
By Sue Seibert

GENERAL MANAGER/EDITOR
David May
[email protected]
LAYOUT & DESIGN
Lindsay Burge
[email protected]

6
10

CHASING OUR TALES

RIDE’N THE RAIL TO MINERAL WELLS
By Jim Dillard

CIRCULATION
[email protected]
CALL
940-325-4465
ONLINE
www.mineralwellsindex.com

12

SERENITY ESTATES

was built with love – and trust
By Wynelle Catlin

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 4

Outdoors Along the Brazos

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Which name – Cowboy or AT&T – stirs up
your soul more? Which name heats up your
passion more? Which name provokes your
native heritage more, Cowboy or AT&T?
AT&T is in this game for the bucks.
Billionaire Jerry Jones favors a fat wallet
above all else. But how does a native-born
bona fide fan get used to this kind of reasoning?
Money talks, we know that – but, well, it
can’t get much worse or can it? Are we still
trying to make a silk purse out of a sow’s
ear?
Local loyal fans are in it – first and foremost – for the thrill of a game in good old
Cowboy Stadium.
AT&T pays Jerry Jones millions of dollars
to rename the stadium. I guess Jerry is happy
now, but what about the local fans? What if
they sort of “run out of gas” because of naming rights. You’ve got to keep your powder
dry, good folks.
We just didn’t realize that naming rights
were worth so much to a giant corporation
plus a very rich man. What’s next: AT&T
100% WholeWheat Bread, maybe AT&T
Farmfresh Eggs? Gee Whiz! Even Ma Bell
wouldn’t have been so flagrant (or brazen,
rude).
“What’s in a Name?” is the best title I can
come up with to startle us. Several hardcore
Cowboy fans were having coffee in our town
the other evening. We were doing a bit of
soul-searching when someone mentioned our
local state parks, all three of them, and how
fortunate we are to have them.
When you get to thinking about it a state
park a couple of miles east carries the appropriate name: Lake Mineral Wells State Park

& Trailway. It carries the name of our city. I
just don’t know how we escaped the clutches
of AT&T on this one.
Another state park – with planning and ongoing infrastructure – is cradled in the picturesque foothills near Strawn, 4,000-plus acres,
part of which is in Palo Pinto County. The
name is Palo Pinto Mountains State Park,
apropos because the geographical and topographical naming of it fits the culture of the
landscape. (The AT&T boys at the time must
have been in Europe on a spree, spending
good old USA stock market dividends.)
Superintendent John Ferguson stated “the
park expects to draw visitors from not only
the 8.8 million people who live within a 150mile radius, but also from Interstate 20 traffic.
“By the end of the first year, we expect to
have 100,000 visitors,” projected Ferguson.
“By the second year, we anticipate 200,000.”
This is not just chicken feed for Palo Pinto
County. We are proud of our rugged landscape.
Northwest of our city there is to be found
yet another state park in Palo Pinto County,
then name of which is Possum Kingdom
State Park.
History tells us that an old trapper made a
darn good living trapping ‘possums in the
early days, selling his ‘possum hides to big
city markets. He was a very colorful individual with a natural born survival instinct, not
easily forgotten.
This bend in Los Brazos de Dios was
named Possum Kingdom Bend, followed by
a concrete dam started in 1937 in that particular bend of the Brazos River, finished in
1941, then officially named Morris Sheppard,

By DON PRICE

but later (on most maps) named Possum
Kingdom Dam.
It’s been said that President Franklin
Delano Roosevelt laughed heartily when told
of the colorful naming of Possum Kingdom
Dam.
By naming the dam Possum Kingdom
because of its history and geographical location, the ambience is enhanced, bringing a bit
more awe not only to tourists but to natives
as well. This is what a colorful name can do,
even as one observes it on a map.
What’s in a name? A lot.
I transferred from Woodrow Wilson High
School in Dallas to enroll in Mineral Wells
High School in January 1946.
No big deal. But it was the best thing I
ever did. Hearing so much about the pristine
Brazos River, its serenity and its ruggedness,
I just got carried away while on a float. It
was life or death – I had to try it.
John Graves’ book, “Goodbye to a River,”
meant so much to me that I kept it open on
the boat’s seat to follow his vivid description
of landmarks as I floated each bend. I’ve
read his regional masterpiece no less than
five times. About one-half of the 300-odd
pages is about the picaresque days of Los
Brazos de Dios, Colonel Charles Goodnight
included, page 62, many more. (I could turn
to page 62 in my sleep, third edition.) John’s
book is definitely a classic.
When I finally got off the river and came
to town, I then helped my dad in our little
Mom and Pop Western Auto Store every evening after school.
My dad discovered a paradise for largemouth black bass; we found them in nearby
Lake Mineral Wells. It was so close by, you

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 5

could even catch a good ‘un on your coffee break,
bring the 5-pounder to town and swap it to Ned
Patterson for a sack of tomatoes, okra and onions.
And everybody was tickled pink.
Lake Mineral Wells became a part of 3,200 acre
Lake Mineral Wells State Park in 1981; 17 years
ago the abandoned W.M.W & N.W. railroad corridor was converted into a Trailway (Rail-Trail)
and joins the park on the east side via a switchback near Penitentiary Hollow, all picturesque,
and only a stone’s throw from town. How lucky
can we be?
Many years (how they’ve flown by!) after graduating in 1947 (Laura Wallace, senior English,
whew!) from dear old Mineral Wells High
School, I retired from the mom and pop when I

was 53 years old, plenty of years left to walk the
riverbanks, the second bank, sometimes a third
bank.
So when I was in town I checked my P.O. box
most every day. I was amazed at the number of
Mineral Wells High School graduates who had
worked at the post office during those years: Bill
Wigginton, Bob Sturdivant, Kenneth Williams, et
al.
But there was one Mineral Wells High School
grad who worked at the P.O. who was a holy terror on the Miller Stadium gridiron, in fact, any
gridiron. He weighed 162 pounds soaking wet,
not an ounce of fat, all muscle.
He never mentioned his football prowess under
Coach T.W. Carpenter while working at the P.O.

He was fast as a bolt from his guard slot, leaving
it, nabbing the ball carrier on the other side of the
field time after time. The other team hated him.
I really think it embarrassed him when he made
All State. He didn’t want the other guys to think
he was bragging so he kept quiet. Not a peep.
Many of you octogenarians know who he is,
without a doubt. After all, there’s only one.
Jim Long didn’t brag – he didn’t have to. He
was a Mountaineer. Jim worked at the P.O. for 35
years, retiring in time to find he had cancer, living
only a few months, having only the bat-of-an-eye
retirement. He was a Mineral Wells High School
Mountaineer, lest we forget.
What’s in a name? A lot.

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 6

Chasing Our Tales
to Alleyton, C.S.A.

D

id you know that the Confederates States
of America (CSA), during the Civil War,
maintained and established towns around
the South? Well, I didn’t.
When the war began in 1861, the CSA needed
towns as shipping points for the Red River, extending to the frontier settlements in the West. The products of that region moved on trains from Houston by
the Texas Central Railroads. These towns included
Millican, a town founded by the railroad in 1859 but
which declined in 1866 when the railroad ran farther
north, and Alleyton, in Colorado County west of
Houston. Today I am going to
discuss Alleyton.
A pre-historic Indian camp,
Alleyton is the oldest permanent settlement on the
Colorado River. It was established in 1821 by the pioneer
family of William, John,
Rawson, Thomas, and
Abraham Alley, all members
of Austin’s original 300 settlers.
In 1859 William Alley
arranged for the extension of
the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and
Colorado Railway to his property and donated land for the
right-of-way and for the building of shops, a roundhouse, a
depot, and loading facilities.
The town was surveyed, and
all city lots, with the exception
of one reserved for William
Alley's home, were auctioned
to the public. The proceeds of
the sale were divided equally
between William Alley and the
railroad. It quickly became the
largest town in Colorado
County.
The original map of the town, filed in the county
records in 1860, show blocks 57 and 68 marked as
the "graveyard." In 1875, the blocks were sold to
H.C. Gaedke, after the death of William Alley and
the foreclosure and reogranization of the railroad.
After Gaedke's death in 1880, portions of blocks 57
and 68 (totaling approximately 2 acres) were deeded

to three trustees for the official establishment of a
cemetery at the site. That same year, 2.4 acres were
sold to the trustees of the Alleyton Colored
Cemetery to officially form a burial ground adjacent
to the white cemetery for the burial of the African
American citizens of Alleyton. The oldest marked
burial at the site is that of T.S.M. Robinson, whose
marker inscription reads "born in Arkansas, died in
Texas, 1852, age 22 years."
A yellow fever epidemic swept through Alleyton
in 1867, and several burials were made at the cemetery at that time, including four members of the
Captain Henry Clay Everett
family. Additional burials at
the site include veterans of
the Civil War, Spanish
American War, World War I,
World War II, Korean War
and Vietnam War. Today,
Alleyton Cemetery remains
an active burial ground while
simultaneously reminding
visitors of the pioneer settlers
of this community.
Cotton was the primary
agricultural product of

By SUE SEIBERT

Alleyton during the first half of the 20th century,
with some emphasis on rice, corn and pecans. The
removal of gravel in large strip-mining operations
near the river resulted in the destruction of some rich
farming and grazing land and the formation of many
lakes, which are locally popular for fishing. The rise
of the use of synthetics during the post-World War II
period and increasing government regulation of cotton production eliminated cotton as a viable crop
during the 1950s, by which time Alleyton's population had declined to about 125. In 1986 the community had a population of 65 and six businesses,
including several places of entertainment, a welding
and well-drilling service, and an auto-salvage yard.
In 2000 the population was 165.
During the Civil War, cotton from North Texas
and the Brazos Valley went to market through
Millican to Alleyton, the state’s southernmost rail
terminus, and was then transported by wagon to
Brownsville and Matamoros, Mexico. In return, military supplies coming back from those places were
distributed through Millican, in Brazos County south
of College Station, and on by rail to the rest of the
South.
In 1860 the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado
Railroad extended from Harrisburg, near Houston, to
Alleyton. It, therefore, became an extremely important cotton station and quartermaster depot during
the Civil War.
Cotton went from north and east Texas to
Alleyton. It also went from Louisiana and Arkansas
by rail to Alleyton. Cotton was king, and it was the
most precious commodity of the South.
At Alleyton the cotton was loaded on big-bedded
wagons and high wheeled Mexican carts pulled by
mules, horses, or oxen. From Alleyton the “Cotton
Road” led to Goliad, San Patricio, the King Ranch,
and finally to Brownsville where it crossed the Rio
Grande to arrive in Matamoros, Mexico.
It is said that “shreds of white fluff on bush and
cactus marked the trail of the wagon trains.”
From Matamoros the cotton was placed on board
ships destined for Europe, and, as the only major gap
in the United States naval blockade of the
Confederacy, neutral Matamoros was the place of
exchange for outgoing cotton and imported munitions, clothing, and medicine, for, when Federal
troops took Vicksburg in 1863 the Mississippi was
sealed off. The Texas-Mexico trade routes became

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 7

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 8
the major supply line in the trans-Mississippi west.
Alleyton was a primary destination for wagons returning from Matamoros with
rifles, swords, shirts, pants, alum, arrowroot, and other items desperately needed
by both soldiers and civilians in the South.
Alleyton is also the burial place for Dallas Stoudenmire, a Confederate veteran
turned gunman, who became both an El Paso City Marshall and an United States
Deputy Marshall in El Paso.
Stoudenmire was born in Aberfoil, Bullock County, Ala., on Dec. 11, 1845. He
was one of nine children on Lewis and Elizabeth Stoudenmire. He entered the
Confederate army shortly after the Civil War began, when he was just 15. He was
already 6 feet tall, but when officers discovered his age, they discharged him. He
re-enlisted twice more (the Civil War soldiers and sailors system reports a Pvt. D.
Stoudenmire in the Company F of the 17th Alabama Infantry and a Pvt. D.
Stowdemire in Company C of the 6th Alabama Cavalry). Finally he was allowed
to serve as a private in Company F of the 45th Alabama Infantry Regiment. By
the end of the war he stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall and had been wounded several
times. He carried two bullets in his body the rest of his life.
Stoudenmire wore two guns and appeared to be equally accurate with either
hand. Between 1874 and 1878 records of him disappeared, so he may have been
living in Mexico as he spoke fluent Spanish and was known to have worked as a

sheep farmer, wheelwright, merchandiser and carpenter.
Dallas Stoudenmire was an American Old West gunman and lawman who
gained fame for a short gunfight that was later called the “Four Dead in Five
Seconds Gunfight.” On April 14, 1881, a constable named Krempkau when into a
saloon to retrieve a rifle and pistol. A confrontation happened between Kermpkau
and George Campbell over alleged comments made by Campbell to Kermpkau. A
drunk named John Hale, who was unarmed and upset about an investigation
regarding Mexicans and Texans along the border, pulled one of Campbell’s two
pistols and shot Krempkau.
Stoudenmire was eating across the street from the saloon. When he heard the
gun shots, he ran outside and started shooting his Smith & Wesson revolvers,
killing first an innocent Mexican bystander and then Hale. When Campbell saw
Hale go down, he tried to stop the fight, but Krempkau, thinking Campbell had
shot him, fired at him before loosing consciousness. Campbell screamed and
grabbed a gun to return fire. Stoudenmire then fired and killed Campbell.
Three days after the gunfight James Manning, friends of Hale and Campbell,
hired Deputy Marshall Bill Johnson to kill Stoudenmire. Johnson already hated
Stoudenmire, so he got drunk, loaded a double barreled shotgun and waited to
kill Stoudenmire. However, when he heard Stoudenmire and his brother-in-law,
Doc Cummings, coming, he fell over backward, discharging both shells.

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 9
Stoudenmire pulled his guns and shot Johnson eight times, killing him.
The next year, James Manning killed Doc Cummings in what he claimed
was self-defense. Although there was some doubt, Manning was acquitted in
a trial because of his long-time association with many local residents, and
because Cummings was the only person who could calm Stoudenmire, citizens were afraid of what he might do, as, although he was an effective lawman, he was a newcomer and outsider with a vile temper.
While respected by Texas Rangers and the U.S. Marshall service, in May
of 1882, the town council of El Paso announced the firing of Stoudenmire.
After threatening the council, he resigned and became the proprietor of the
Globe Restaurant which had been owned by Cummings. He was then
appointed as Deputy U.S. Marshall for Western Texas and the New Mexico
Territory.
But the Manning-Stoudenmire feud was not over, for on Sept. 18, 1882,
the Mannings and Stoudenmires met in a local saloon, to make what they
would call a "peace treaty" to end the feud. James Manning, believing
things were settled, left.
Stoudenmire started off saying,"Doc, someone or somebody has been
going about telling lies. ..."
Doc replied, "Dallas, you have not kept your word."
"Whoever says I have not tells a damn lie," Stoudenmire roared.
Manning and Stoudenmire drew their pistols and fired. A friend of
Stoudenmire tried to push both men, causing Stoudenmire to lose his balance and Doc's bullet hit Stoundenmire in his left arm. A second round barely penetrated Stoudenmire's skin because of papers folded heavily in his
shirt pocket. Nonetheless, the second shot knocked Stoudenmire down. As
he fell outside the doorway, he pulled one of his pistols with his right hand
and shot "Doc" Manning in the arm.
As Stoudenmire was firing, James Manning came from behind
Stoudenmire and fired two rounds, one hitting a barber's pole, and the other
hitting Stoudenmire behind the left ear, killing him.
"Doc" Manning then commenced beating the dead man over the head
with his own gun, before being restrained by James Manning.
A funeral ceremony for Stoudenmire was held at El Paso's Masonic Lodge
No. 130. His wife, Isabella, then had his body shipped to Columbus, Texas,
for burial. All funeral expenses were paid for by the Masonic Lodge, and
Dallas Stoudenmire is buried in the Allyson Cemetery.
While Stoudenmire wasn’t as well known as some of the other gunfighters of the old West, he was still prominent. Hollywood even considered a
movie of him, but it did not take place.
Stoudenmire had a reputation in his day as a deadly gunfighter and was
involved in more gunfights than most of his better known contemporaries
such as Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and Doc Holliday, about whom all had
movies filmed.
Dallas Stoudenmire has been credited for successfully taming the wild
and violent town of El Paso.

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March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 10

Ride’n the rails to MINERAL WELLS
BY JIM DILLARD

T

he sound of the old steam engine train huffing and puffing through the small town in
central Texas where I grew up still reverberates in my memory. The MKT, or Katy, (Missouri,
Kansas and Texas) railroad line ran right through the
middle of town and was at one time the lifeline to the
outside world for commerce and travel.
Bales of cotton, corn, wheat, milo, livestock, and
other commodities produced by local farmers were
shipped to market by the railroad. The railroad also
brought fuel, lumber, livestock feed, and other products to the town. You could get on a train there and go
just about anywhere you wanted to. I can remember
being awake at night listening to the train whistle and
dreaming of traveling to far off places or perhaps even
working on the railroad when I grew up. Our family
occasionally traveled by train to Houston and Fort
Worth on the Katy to visit relatives. When coal and
steam powered trains were discontinued and replaced
by diesel engines the late 1950s, a lot of the romance
of the railroad disappeared, at least in my mind.
Networks of railroads were built throughout Texas
during the last half of the 19th century to connect
existing towns and transport agricultural, industrial,
and raw material products to markets. They also mobilized the growing population of Texas and the nation
making travel possible to regions not yet assessable by
roads. Along those railroad corridors, hundreds of new
towns and small communities like the one where I
grew up (Bartlett) sprang up to take advantage of the

services provided by railroads. Other communities that
were bypassed by the main line of railroads were
often connected by spur railroads. Three railroads
lines were built to connect Mineral Wells to the larger
network of rail lines in north Texas and ushered in a
period of prosperity and economic growth that would
last for a hundred years.
A.J. Lynch and his family moved from Denison,
Texas, to the eastern edge of the Palo Pinto County in
1877. They traveled in a covered wagon with 50 head
of cattle by way of Gainesville, Graham and Graford,
stopping at Lover's Retreat, located west of Palo Pinto
on Eagle Creek, during December of that year.
Lynch made his way eastward across the Brazos
River on December 24th to an area known as
Millsap's Valley where he settled. In 1878 Lynch purchased 80 acres of land there from the Franco-Texas
Land Company for the sum of $240. The FrancoTexas Land Company had originally been chartered
land by the state in 1856 to complete a rail line
through Texas from northeast Texas to El Paso.
Although that venture eventually proved unsuccessful,
some of the land Lynch bought in Palo Pinto County
had originally belonged to that company.
For four years Lynch hauled water from the salty
Brazos River for drinking water to meet the needs of
his family and livestock. In 1880, Johnny D. Adams,
an itinerant well digger, drilled a well for him in
exchange for a yoke of oxen and struck highly mineralized water. Although the water tasted "funny," it

appeared to have curative qualities which helped
improve the aches and ills of his family. As word
spread, people from far and wide began making their
way to his well. The demand was so high for the hundred or so gallons per day the well produced, people
had to sign an affidavit they were indeed sick and in
need of the water. He laid out a town in the fall of
1881 and sold lots as people began building homes
and other buildings rather that live in tents. This was
the beginning of Mineral Wells and the mineral water
craze that would transform the town into a destination
like none other in Texas.
When the Texas and Pacific Railroad Company continued construction of their rail line west of Fort
Worth toward California during 1881-1882, its route
lay through the southern part of Palo Pinto County,
thus bypassing Palo Pinto, the county seat, and
Lynch's town. As Mineral Wells began to grow, people
traveled here any way they could in 1882, including a
stagecoach service that ran between Mineral Wells and
the terminus of the Texas and Pacific Railroad in
Millsap. It would not be until 1889 that a 25-mile spur
from the Texas and Pacific Railroad in Weatherford
would be built to Mineral Wells.
On July 2, 1889, the Weatherford, Mineral Wells
and Northwestern Railway was chartered with a capital of $500,000 with a business office located in
Weatherford. Members of the first board of directors
included J.R. Stone, W.S. Stone, J.E. Soule and D.P.
Doak from Kansas City, Mo., H.M. Taylor, Henry

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 11
Warren, Austin Kerr and William Anderson from
Weatherford, and William Johnston from Strawn. The
short line, which was completed in 1891, brought
new life to Mineral Wells and surrounding communities as health seekers flocked to the crazy water town.
In 1902 the WMW&NW line was extended northward in Palo Pinto County to Salesville, Oran and
Graford. The line was jocularly referred to by local
people as the "Whiskey-More Whiskey-No Whisky"
railroad. The word "whiskey" was sometimes
replaced by "water."
The rolling stock of the WMW&NW initially consisted of 81 cars: two steam engines, 14 coal cars,
two coaches, two combinations, eight flat cars, 47
box cars and 10 other miscellaneous cars. Bituminous
coal from the nearby Rock Creek coal mines, located
just east of Mineral Wells on the present Bunker Hill
Ranch, was used as fuel. Coal was also hauled to
Weatherford by wagons for use by trains on the main
Texas and Pacific line. Many of the laborers that built
the WMW&NW railroad were Chinese and Irish men
brought to Texas from Colorado by P.E. Brock who
would eventually become the general superintendent
of the railroad. Some of these men remained in the
area to work in local coal mines. The rail width was
the standard four feet, eight and one-half inches. The
roadbed was laid out with fourteen curves along the
contour of the land to provide a gentle grade between
Weatherford and Mineral Wells and to enhance the
scenic views for travelers.
In 1892 the line carried one-quarter passengers and
three-quarters freight with gross earnings of more
than $19,000 and a profit of around $2,200. In 1895,
it earned $15,561 from passenger service and
$38,070 in freight delivery. Thirty-three thousand
people rode the WMW&NW train from Weatherford
to Mineral Wells in 1899 as the town continued to
grow and attract visitors from all over the world.
Mineral water was also shipped in tank cars to
Houston and Galveston at the rate of 25 cents per
100 pounds of weight in its natural state or carbonated. The railroad also carried more than 48,000 tons of
coal from the Rock Creek coal mines located east of
Mineral Wells.
The Texas and Pacific Railroad bought the
WMW&NW rail line in 1902 as net profits soared to
more than $39,000. The line was extended north and
westward 18 miles in Palo Pinto County to Salesville,
Oran and to its terminus at Graford. Although the 12
miles of track between Salesville and Graford were
abandoned during 1936, sections of the old right-ofway and dump are still visible today. By 1941 the
line between Mineral Wells and Salesville was also
abandoned. During World War II when Camp Wolters
was activated, four and one-half miles of new siding
was added to move troops, equipment, and other
freight to and from the base. Between 1941 and 1945,
over 429,000 troops were moved over the railroad
form the Mineral Wells depot to Weatherford where
connection was made with the Texas and Pacific line.
As more highways were being constructed, fewer
people came to Mineral Wells for the famous waters

that became less famous. In 1940 a bus called the
Sunshine Special brought passengers from the T&P
station in Millsap to Mineral Wells. Freight continued
to be shipped on the WMW&NW line for another 45
years as it came
under ownership
of Missouri
Pacific, Union
Pacific and
finally in 1989,
the City of
Mineral Wells,
which operated
the line as the
Mineral Wells
and Eastern
Railroad.
Operation of that
line ended in
1992.
The Gulf and
Brazos Valley
Railroad line was chartered on Dec. 29, 1897, by citizens of Mineral Wells and Henrietta, Texas, with the
intention to connect the two towns with the Chicago,
Rock Island and Texas Railroad near the Red River
in Montague County, a distance of 110 miles. The
business office was located at Peck City, a rail station
located 17 miles southwest of Weatherford on the
Texas and Pacific Railroad (near present Bennett.)
The railroad spur was completed to Mineral Wells in
1900 but lasted only a few years. The planned extension on to Henrietta was never constructed. Some of
the old roadbed and rock culverts of the G&BV
Railroad are still visible on private lands along Rock
Creek but are inaccessible for viewing.
The Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad was chartered on Nov. 2, 1908, to build a 400-mile railroad
from Knox County, Texas, to Newton County,
Texas, on the southeast Texas border with
Louisiana. The railroad began in Jacksboro and
construction was completed to Olney by October
1909. Thirty-five more miles of track was laid to
Seymour by June 1910. Plans to extend the line to
New Mexico failed to materialize. On March 22,
1913, the railroad line was extended south from
Jacksboro to Salesville in Palo Pinto County. From
there it used 22.2 miles of the WMW&NW
Railroad line to Weatherford for freight service and
8.7 miles of the WMW&NW track for passenger
service from Salesville Junction to Mineral Wells.
Freight was hauled through Mineral Wells on the
GT&W for several years. Mineral Wells' connection to the GT&W (Getcha-Ticket-And Wait) line
ended when the WMW&NW line between Mineral
Wells and Salesville was abandoned in 1941.
In 1912, two self-contained 200-horsepower,
70-foot-long gasoline-powered 80-passenger
McKeen motor coaches were put into service on
the WMW& NW line between Graford, Mineral
Wells, Weatherford, Fort Worth and Dallas. A
round trip took less than six hours. The two

"Doodle Bugs," as local people called them, provided service each direction every three hours.
When the Gulf, Texas and Western Railroad was
completed to Seymour in 1913, "Doodle Bug" service was available for passenger service from
Mineral Wells
to Jacksboro
and Seymour.
Except for
during World
War II, passenger service to
Mineral Wells
on the
WMW&NW
rail line was
discontinued in
1928. With the
construction of
the Bankhead
Highway across Texas and through Mineral Wells
during the 1920s, travel by cars and trucks became
the primary mode of transportation. Today, the old
railroad right-of-way has been converted to a 22.8
mile walking and equestrian trail between Mineral
Wells and Weatherford and is administered by
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The old
Mineral Wells depot has been beautifully restored
and now serves as an office building.
Railroads were an integral part of the complex
social and economic framework that defined
Mineral Wells during its heyday. They made
"Mineral Wells: The Great Health Resort of the
South," as the town was described on a 1906
WMW&NW train schedule, assessable to whoever
could afford a ticket to get here. And get here they
did. I can only imagine the scene at the old
Mineral Wells depot where tired but eager passengers arrived and walked or were driven in hacks
and buggies to boarding houses, hotels, and all
other manner of accommodations that awaited
them. The sound of the whistle and bell of the old
steam engines train, belching smoke, hissing
steam, and rumbling through the town, must have
brought a sense of excitement to people who rode
the rails to Mineral Wells and to those who welcomed them here. ALL ABOARD!
(Sources: Painted Post: A 150 Year History of
Palo Pinto County, Texas by the Palo Pinto County
Historical Commission; Time Was in Mineral
Wells: A Crazy Story but ture... by A. F. Weaver;
Three Roads to Mineral Wells by H. L. Payne,
1975, Portals of Texas History; The Weatherford,
Mineral Wells and Northwestern Railroad Depot,
Portals of Texas History; The Handbook of Texas
Online (Gulf and Brazos Valley Railway;
Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern
Railway; Millsap, Texas; Gulf, Texas and Western
Railway; and other Internet sources.)

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 12

Serenity Estates

By WYNELLE CAITLIN

C

ousins Mike Bates and Lori Hopper spent much
of their childhood with their grandmother, Mary
Bates. She is no longer with us, but they wanted
to honor her memory by establishing a loving home away
from home for persons who need assistance in their daily
lives.
They trusted that if they could establish this home, it
would prove successful. When they heard of an empty
building at N.W. 4th Street and N.W. 3rd Avenue in
Mineral Wells, they thought it would be just right. They
went to see it one day, decided it was ideal. Lori's exfather-in-law, Jim Flint, helped arrange financing and it
was purchased the next day.
Seven months were spent refurbishing and renewing the
20-unit facility, which has units with private baths, units
with shared baths in various sizes and price ranges. There
are also bath and shower rooms for residents to use. (one

has a walk-in tub). The community-dining room, large living area, media room, outdoor patio and front porch with
rocking chairs provide areas where residents visit with
family and friends.
There is also a kitchen from which three meals a day are
prepared, as well as special meals for special events such
as birthday celebrations and the monthly family luncheon.
Mike, who has an office in the building, serves as financial director. Lori, a nurse-practitioner with her own practice, acts as health care supervisor. Jim Flint is overseer.
Roxann Martin, manager-director, has the daily task of seeing that dreams of a loving home away from home are fulfilled.
The grandmother, Mary Bates, lived in Cross Plains,
where she was an active part of the community.
Granddaughter Lori, whose home was in Brownwood,
spent summers with her. Lori graduated from Early High

s
t
always family
ates
E
s

y
t
t
i
I
night at Seren

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 13

.
t
s
u
r
t
d
n
a

e
v
o
l
h
t
i
w
t
l
i
u
b
s
a

w

School before going on to Tarleton University Stephenville to obtain
a bachelor's degree in Science and Nursing. After working at John
Peter Smith Hospital, she earned her certificate as a nurse-practitioner. Two years ago, she became owner of Texas Family Medical in
Mineral Wells, where she now practices.
Grandson Mike didn't get to spend as much time with their
grandmother as Lori did, but both basked in her loving care. Mike
is a few years older than Lori, but they became close and had a
more brother-sister relationship than just cousins. He attended ACU
in Abilene, then University of North Texas. While in college, he
began buying and restoring homes built in the 1920s and '30s. He
became a realtor and has a practice in the Dallas area.
Roxann Martin, manager-director, obtained her nursing certificate from Harris Hospital. She worked in pediatrics and had a
Foster Home for children with severe medical needs. She and her
husband are the adoptive parents of 14 children, seven still living at
home.

She also worked in Home Health, providing care for elderly,
before agreeing to assist Mike and Lori in providing a home away
from home for senior citizens who need assistance in their daily
lives.
A maintenance man and assistant keep machinery running and
landscaping neat. They also hang pictures and do other necessary
chores for residents. The cooks cater to residents' food preferences.
The cheerful attendants are always helpful and kind.
A beautician and manicurist keep weekly appointments.
Exercise sessions, games which include bingo, handcrafts keep
residents busy. A new blue van takes them on shopping trips or to
fill appointments.
We have a family member who is a resident of Serenity Estates.
When my son came to visit he walked in and exclaimed, “It's so
peaceful!”
Peace and love permeate the building. Mike and Lori's dream is a
reality.

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 14

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 15

Graham Trailer Company
203 State Hwy 67 • Graham, TX 76450

940-550-5977 • 940-549-0078
Jackie Bishop
Neckover
Tr
Rubber Fl ailer
oor
10 year
warranty

RAMPS !

CAR HAULER

March 2015 • NORTH TEXAS STAR • Page 16

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