Moving about the country you come across some interesting place names. Many are named after prominent folk in the community at the time – famous names like Austin and Dallas. Others speak to the uniqueness of the local geography – names like Big Lake or Round Rock. If you wander just south of downtown San Antonio you will find a little community called Hot Wells. This begs the question – was the town named after Mr. Wells’ well-endowed wife? Or perhaps holes dug deep in the ground that provided hot water?
Spoiler Alert – the area wasn’t named after Mrs. Wells. In 1892 an artesian well was dug on the site of the Southwestern Lunatic Asylum along the banks of the San Antonio River. The well was intended to provide water to the asylum, but instead of drinkable water it produced over a 180,000 gallons per day of sulphur-rich water at a temperate of about 104 degrees. The water was deemed unfit for use by the asylum, and the well and surrounding land was leased to a series of entrepreneurs that marketed the warm, stinky water as a cure for all manner of ailments and disease.
The Hot Wells Hotel and Bath House at its peak. (San Antonio Conservation Society Foundation)
Over the next several decades the site experienced several cycles of prosperity followed by sharp decline. The original bath house was constructed in early 1894, and promptly burned to the ground in December of that same year. From the ashes arose a grand resort. By 1908 the site would boast a world-class spa and a hotel with over 190 rooms – the largest in southwest Texas at the time. The resort attracted financial tycoons, movie stars, and celebrities from around the world. Then in 1925 most of it burned to the ground. Apparently, the water wasn’t the only thing “hot” in Hot Wells. The Great Depression and the Second War to End All Wars stifled attempts to return the resort to its former glory. It limped along in the form of motel, trailer park, and small bar and grill named (with no lack of irony) the Flame Room until 1979. The area then fell into ruin, visited mostly by squatters and local ne’re do wells. What little remained also caught on fire in 1988 and again in 1997.
Ruins of the former Bath House.
During the time we lived in San Antonio the ruins of the resort hid deep in thick brush and patches of cactus along the east bank of the San Antonio River. In 2015 a plan was implemented to stabilize the ruins and develop the area into Bexar county’s first-ever cultural historical park. In 2019 the park opened to the public, allowing visitors to explore the ruins and enjoy interpretive exhibits around the site. It is an interesting place to spend a few hours, and just a few steps off the Mission Reach extension of the River Walk.
Modern Day Camp Hot Wells where you can enjoy and drink and a soak.
For those that want to enjoy the therapeutic effects of the warm, odiferous water, you can visit Camp Hot Wells adjacent to the park. This private business features several soaking tubs and a unique bar that features pools you can soak your feet in while enjoying a cool drink. The bar is open to the public, but the spa requires a free membership. (I speculate this may be a way of side stepping some public health requirements regarding strangers simmering in large vats of untreated water.) Unfortunately, the Camp has limited hours and is only open on the weekend, so the timing didn’t work out for us to visit during our short trip. But we definitely would plan to check it out on our next visit to the area. Now we just need to decide where to head next? Sugar Tit, Kentucky? Beaver City, Indiana? Intercourse, Pennsylvania? Drop us a comment and let us know where you think we should go!
Below the Line
What’s In A Name
If you want to take your partner on a European road-trip, but can’t afford the airfare, you can hit many of the highlights on a Texas road trip. You can fit Paris, Athens, Moscow, Berlin, Vienna, London, Florence, Holland, Dublin, and Italy into a weekend adventure!
Some other fun and interesting-named places we have visited:
Iraan, Texas – a small community in West Texas, named after the original ranch owners, Ira and Ann Yates.
Novi, Michigan – one legend is the area got its name from the map section, No. VI, where the town was incorporated.
Mexican Hat, Utah – named after a nearby rock formation that resembles a sombrero (after the viewer has consumed substantial amounts of tequila.)
West Texas – which oddly enough isn’t in West Texas – it is named after a prominent resident, Thomas M. West.