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MINERAL,
TEXAS
Bee County, South
Texas
FMs 623 and 673
15 miles NW of Beeville
82 miles SE of San Antonio
via US 181
Population: 50
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Mineral
Mercantile
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2006 |
History
in a Pecan Shell
In 1877, Mineral was simply a tract of land with settlers digging
a water well. When they found their well water wasn't fit to drink,
they had it analyzed. It revealed 16 different minerals in the water
and the world soon beat a path to what fast became a town. The town
was known as Mineral City, and everyone showed up wanting to
soak in the waters.
A hotel, stores, churches and a drugstore were soon built and Mineral
City became a town. In 1889, they deepened the well and the mineral
content dropped dramatically.
Sometime prior to 1895 the word "City" was dropped from Mineral City's
post office name. The hotel disappeared - probably becoming someone's
private residence.
In 1890 the population was 100 people. They had a fire in 1901 and
had barely recovered when there was a flood in 1903.
In 1952 Mineral became the location of The South Texas Children's
Home, where it remains today.
See also Swinney Switch, Texas |
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Primera
Egleasia Baptista
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, December 2006 |
Mineral
Texas Forum
Subject: Mineral
Memories
I grew up in Mineral. The story [of the naming] was that settlers
were passing through in a wagon train and that one of the kids was
sick. They stopped and gave the child a drink from a well or spring,
and the water cured the kid of his ailment. Supposedly he had some
kind of stomach worm. There was arsenic in the water and this is what
cured the child.
There were a large amount of sheep dipping vats. There is one that
is covered up on the old Bast place where county roads meet just south
of Mineral. This is what brought it first to be a mineral spa and
people came there from all over. My mother and Audrey Fudge are two
of the old timers who still live there. Mrs. Fudge was a Wolfe originaly
and her family ran the Mineral Store. My mother moved there in 1942-44
and has lived on the same hill since then. She is now 81. There are
a lot of old Mineral stories. My family and what is left of them were
original settlers and my grandfather who died about 1928 owned a confectionary
and a barber shop there. Mrs. Grady DuBose who is in the Georgewest
/ Oakville area, is a cousin to my father. There are lots of stories
about Halloween when they would put someone's wagon up on a house.
During the war, they turned a touring car with dates over on one of
the roads out there. Many of the paved roads were once dirt and there
are places where I rode a bicycle as a kid that are now fenced off
and some of the old roads are even gone. I can remember going all
over the Yoward ranch. They originally owned the Mineral Mercantile.
- Dale DuBose, Kingsville, Texas, June 18, 2007
Anyone with history or photos of Mineral, Texas, please contact
us.
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