First Stop Wizzard Wells

Wizzard Wells

Today started out as a lazy Sunday. I slept late, breezed through CBS Sunday Morning that was recorded, watched the first two segments of Texas Country Reporter and realized I have already seen this episode. I moved to the computer room and checked my email, made a couple of comments on Facebook and decided to take a shower. After a shower and shave, I was feeling adventurous and started thinking of somewhere close I take a road trip and see. I went back to the computer room and looked up State Parks...nothing really close that I have not been to...so I decided to just look at a map. I remember some interesting sounding names heading off of 199 whenever I would drive to Jacksboro, so I started looking around that area of the map and saw it immediately, Wizzard Wells. I was soon off with my camera to Wizzard Wells. 

I love traveling around Texas, for one, I never use a map.  I have done enough driving in Texas that I either have been on the road that I'm travelling or as long as I know what direction it is going, I can pretty well tell where I'll end up. From my house though Highway 199 is only about 2 miles, so I headed towards Springtown and decided to get a car wash along the way. 

After a quick stop in Springtown for my car wash and to stop and buy a cold drink, I headed West towards Jacksboro. It's late in August yet the temperature is 100 degrees and the sun is beating down on the truck as I crank the air to full blast. I turn up the music and get her up to 75mph. At this rate it really wont take long to get to my destination. As I file up the hills and speed down them you notice that the further west you get the more the land starts resembling West Texas instead of North Texas where you started out. It's not a really subtle change, but you notice the trees getting smaller, and fewer and more grouped around gullys and creekbeds where water accumulates. The soil goes from a light tan color to almost red, like the red clay of West Texas. Mesquite trees start popping up and soon there are more of them than the other scrubby oaks, elms and cedars. 

I get to my turn and notice how on this road it seems to be all Mesquites and prickly pear cactus plants. Every so often you'd see an old oil pump jack or some oil storage tanks, just enough to know at one time, there was oil here, probably still is. I cross the 380/114 intersection and I'm only 2 miles from Wizzard Wells. I notice a piece of land for sale and think, this wouldn't be a bad place to have a secluded place to live...like I want when I retire. In a minute I come around a bend in the road and here is Wizzard Wells. 

The Old Bathhouse

The Well

The houses are sparse and there is lot's of space in between them. I come to something that looks like a general store I stop and take a picture. I drive on through town...until there is none...turn around and come back. It's on the way back that I notice behind the General Store I took pictures of was a historical marker and a kind of rest stop of sorts. The historical marker told of how Kiowa indians had originally discovered the water here and had used it to cure things. The founder of the town was George Washington Vineyard. The original name of the town was Vineyard and at one time it had several hotels, churches, stores and a lumber mill. I find it funny that the Mineral Water here, seems to have been used similarly to the Mineral Water in Mineral Wells, Texas which is not all that far away. There must have been an mineral water stream underground or something. 

Meditation Labrynth ?

The town seemed to prosper until around  1898 when the railroad was routed  elsewhere, although the marker said that there were still excursions there from the railroad stop though. I would imagine that riding the train to Mineral Wells and staying in the Baker Hotel was more enoyable than going here and using the bathhouses. Although this was probably a cheaper alternative to the healing properties of the Mineral Water that was advertised by both places. Funny the name of Vineyard was changed to Wizzard Wells in 1915, and the town that got the railroad, named  Vineyard. 

Inside the Labrynth

Huge Cactus.

Now somewhere else I read someone called the big rock garden a meditation labrynth...and as I look at it I believe maybe that is what it was. I just know it was a huge round circle with all kinds of rocks and different objects inside of it comprising smaller circles. From inside the circle looking out I could see how some objects had been placed in line of sight of the main object on the outside of the circle. In any case someone or a whole lot of people have spent some time making this and it must mean something to someone, so I left it as undisturbed as possible, and just took  a few pictures. Now I don't know if you believe in the mineral water, and I don't even know if it still exists there but just take a gander at this huge cactus that was growing right next to the well....and make up your own mind on whether it has healthy attributes.