“Taking the Waters” at Texas Spas

Abstract

Throughout Texas' history, towns with health resorts built around mineral wells and springs attracted thousands of health and pleasure seekers. Daily life in these towns revolved around the waters, creating social and economic activities and landscapes distinct from those of other Texas towns. Involving an intimate interaction between man and nature, the resorts nurtured body and spirit as symbolized by baptism and rebirth, cleansing and purification, and pilgrimage. Myths and legends added to the mystery of the waters' purported healing qualities and to a sense of the historical continuity of individual spas. Even though activities encouraged pleasureseeking at some resorts, healthseeking predominated, and their landscapes reflected this foremost concern. The waters influenced the settlement of many towns as developers took advantage of them in the westward movement across Texas. As settlement proceeded, resort towns developed or modified their images or abandoned the waters altogether because of society's changing values and attitudes toward the health-giving properties of water. Despite recent attempts to revive some resorts, the health water spa has largely disappeared in Texas as if it had never existed, for few vestiges remain on the landscape.