Site of Public Mineral Water Well

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this one. Now, they call this part of Wood County the Forks of the River, and that name tells you something right there. When the settlers of Mineola first laid eyes on this place, they weren't looking at the scenery.

They were looking at the water. And water, out here, was everything. So they chose this spot, and they built a town around it.

The very first water service in Mineola was run by a man named A. W. Front, who made daily deliveries to his fifty clients.

Fifty. He hauled it to them himself. That's a business, and that's a calling.

But the ground beneath this town had bigger ideas. A water well was located on this site as early as 1885. Then, between 1889 and 1890, workmen came out here drilling for salt.

Salt. That's what they were after. What they found instead was mineral water.

Now, the story doesn't stop there. In 1896, Henry L. Beaird constructed a sixty-foot windmill tower with a three-thousand-gallon cypress wood tank, and dug a mineral well down to one hundred and fifty feet.

That well became the town's main water source. And in 1913, someone had the water analyzed, and the results came back showing more than twelve minerals associated with healing properties. Twelve minerals.

People were drinking that water every day and didn't even know what they had. By 1906, the old windmill was retired and an electric motor took over the work. The well served this town faithfully, year after year, until 1924, when the street above it was bricked over and the well was capped.

Sealed up. The exact spot where all of this happened, where A. W.

Front hauled his first deliveries, where the salt drillers struck something better, where Henry Beaird's windmill turned in the Texas wind, is the center of the intersection of Highway 80 and Johnson Street. You might drive right over it without a second thought. Now you know what's underneath.

What the marker says

Mineola settlers chose this area, nicknamed "the Forks of the River," for its abundance of water. The town's first water service was administered by A. W. Front, who made daily deliveries to his 50 clients. A water well was located on this site as early as 1885; workmen drilling for salt between 1889 and 1890 discovered mineral water. In 1896 a 60-foot windmill tower with a 3,000-gallon cypress wood tank was constructed and a mineral well dug to 150 feet by Henry L. Beaird. This became the town's main water source. A 1913 analysis of the water revealed more than 12 minerals associated with healing properties. In 1906, an electric motor replaced the windmill. The well was capped in 1924 when the street was bricked over. The exact site of the public mineral water well was the center of the intersection of Highway 80 and Johnson Street. (1998)