Site of Abney Plunge

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna pass it right along to you. Now, out on W.B. Abney's property in Lampasas County, something was stirring beneath the ground, and nobody quite knew what it was yet.

The year was 1902, and a group of local businessmen had a hunch. They hired the American Drilling Co. to come out and drill for oil right there on Abney's land. Oil.

That's what they were after. Early the next year, though, the crew struck something else entirely. Sulphur water.

Not oil, not the fortune they may have been imagining, but sulphur water, and the kind that was noted for having medicinal qualities at that. They also found sources of salt and surface water down in that earth. Now, the well had its moods.

On several occasions, water stopped flowing at Abney's well altogether. Just quit. So in 1926, a new well was drilled right next to the old one.

And the following year, Abney and his son took what that ground had been offering all along and built the Abney swimming pool. A large pool. People called it Abney's Plunge, and the name fit.

It became a popular attraction, drawing residents and visitors each and every year. Families coming to take the waters, kids splashing around in something that started as a failed oil search. The school district bought the property in 1937 and kept that pool running for many years, until 1954, when they converted the whole site into a play area.

One way or another, Lampasas kept finding a use for what the ground gave up.

What the marker says

In 1902, local businessmen hired the American Drilling Co. to dtill for oil at this site on W.B. Abney's property. Early the next year, the crew struck sulphur water, which was noted for having medicinal qualities. They also found sources of salt and surface water. On several occasions, water stopped flowing at Abney's well. A new well was drilled next to the old well in 1926, and the following year Abney and his son built the Abney swimming pool. The large pool, known as Abney's Plunge, became a popular attraction for residents and visitors each year. The school district bought the property in 1937 and used the pool for many years until converting the site into a play area in 1954. (2004)