Hot Wells Natatorium Company
[Abstracted from an article by Ted Hancock]
Contributed by Jean Caddel
In 1907 the City of Waxahachie, (while trying to obtain water for municipal purposes at a site on East Madison Street), drilled a deep artesian well which produced mineral water unfit for their use.. P. F. Davenport, city water superintendent, stated that the total cost of the mineral well was $29,198.28. However, when drilling stopped, a large portion of water was going to waste.
A group of Waxahachie citizens became interested in the idea of using this water for some type of health benefit. In April 1908, a corporation, known as the Waxahachie Hot Wells Natatorium Company , was formed by five men: C. E. Schuster, J. H. Wakeland, S. P. Spalding, N. J. Thomas and Pete Ellis. Chartered for fifty years, its goal was to create a natatorium and bath room . The capital stock was $10,000 divided into one hundred shared of one hundred dollars each. At charter date, all stock had been subscribed and fifty per cent had been paid. Officers of the corporation were Schuster, President, Wakeland, Vice President and Spalding, Secretary-Treasurer.
Block 38, Old Town, the future home of the Natatorium, was located across Madison Street from the mineral well. In 1907 a wagon yard was located on this property boundaries of which were: to begin at the northwest corner of Jefferson Street, thence East with Jefferson 153-1/2 feet to the northwest corner of the Robert Armstrong lot, thence south with the west line of that lot for 200 feet to Madison Street, west along Madison 153-1/2 feet to a stake; thence north with Clift Street 200 feet to the beginning of the survey.
In 1900 this property was owned by A. M. Dechman and his wife who sold it that year to J. W. Eastwood and wife for $1,250. .In June, 1904, C. L. Wakeland and H. B. Mendheim purchased the property for $4,500. After the drilling of the mineral water well, the Natatorium Company purchased the property from the Wakelands for the same price.
After its formation, the Company made plans for construction of the Natatorium. In April 1908 advertisements for construction bids were made and the Daily Light reported that the old wagon yard was being torn down with excavation for the pool to begin on the 9th. Details were completed on what the owners hoped would be the most modern natatorium in the country. The building contract was awarded H. W. Madison..
The building was a two story white frame structure measuring 40' x 120' with a portico and balcony on the front. Inside the Natatorium was a pool measuring 20' x 70' and around it was a double check tier of bath rooms. The upper deck housed fifty baths, several showers and vapor baths. There was also an elegantly decorated parlor with a park and flower garden located at the rear and side of the building.
By May 9th, work was progressing at a satisfactory rate and an early opening was predicted. Suits had been ordered and upon arrival, the pool would open. Owners of the Natatorium had high hopes of making Waxahachie a resort city through the use of the building and the mineral waters. Local citizens were asked to help with advertising and inquiries were received from several points in Texas as well as other states.
The universal verdict of all who had given the mineral water a fair test was that it was the best - as compared with mineral and hot springs in the North and East. However, it tasted and smelled bad (some people preferred to squeeze lemon juice in it before swallowing it). The water was brownish and left a ring around the natatorium pool. Some people would soak their glassware in the water in order to give it a brown look. As for its medicinal help, it was reported that a glassful of water was as effective as two tablespoons of castor oil. Another drawback was that a person could not remain in the pool for a long period of time because it was too exhausting. An unverified report stated that the water was piped to the Rogers Hotel.
A committee of company directors appeared before the Waxahachie City Council on April 8, 1908 to request an ordinance permitting the Natatorium to use the city's hot well water for a period of five years. The city agreed to a $25 monthly rental fee for this period as long as the company obtained benefits. The ordinance also provided that the council could build a drinking fountain for public use (to cost not less than $100) and maintain it - at the company's expense. This was done.
Small editorial quips appeared in both the Waxahachie Enterprise and Daily Light from time to time about the mineral water and its wonder working powers.
The Natatorium remained active at least through 1910. Some local physicians felt that bathing in the hot waters was injurious to health, and no doubt, this influenced some people. According to one source, the pool also lost popularity after a Trinity University student was found drowned at the bottom of the pool. Unfortunately, Waxahachie missed a chance of becoming an outstanding health center.
Reports differ on what happened to the natatorium building. One story is that it was used for storage purposes for several years and burned in 1915 while another report was that the building was torn down. A wooden pavilion in the park area remained standing through the years and was used until casing on the water outlet on the fountain caved in - at which time it was capped. This is said to have occurred in 1947/48. This area is now a playground and city council health office site.
Sources:
City of Waxahachie Council Minutes
Ellis County Deed Records
Interview with Herman Cook
Waxahachie Enterprise
Waxahachie Daily Light
Another article (by Elmer Fincher) published in the Daily Light [exact date unknown] stated that some Waxahachians [of that day] might remember the Natatorium and many would remember the hot well. The area around the well seemed to be a gathering place - there was a skating rink there at one time and at another time a group of kiddie rides. Summer nights around the well were something else for there was a steady stream of people going in and out of the shed filling their jugs.
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