The City of Mineral Wells is a very unique community. Since its inception in the late 1800s, it has withstood no fewer than five economic booms, and suffered an equal number of economic busts.
In the late 1920s and the early 1930s, Mineral Wells was an international resort destination. People came from far and wide to partake of the healing waters and soak in the aromatic baths. Then the FDA came along and seriously questioned the healing qualities of the water and the rather wild claims being made by the local purveyors of the magic liquid.
It didn’t help local economic matters that medicine had made some substantial advances, and you could now pop a pill and feel better immediately rather than spend a couple of weeks soaking and drinking in the spas of Mineral Wells.
The entire economy, which was based upon the spa/water industry, collapsed and Mineral Wells became a town with empty buildings and residences galore.
A couple of years later, fortunately, the U.S. Army chose Mineral Wells as the home of Camp Wolters, and a military camp was constructed east of the town. Once again, Mineral Wells became a thriving community based upon a single economic engine.
Unfortunately, Camp Wolters was closed down a few years later and once again Mineral Wells slid from minor boom to bust. A few years later, the Air Force realized that there was a vacant military facility available in Mineral Wells, and soon Wolters Air Force Base was the economic engine, and most recent boom for the community.
However, as the Korean conflict cooled down, the Air Force decided to close the Mineral Wells facility and once again the local economy crumbled.
The Viet Nam conflict became the impetus for the final military based economy for Mineral Wells. The Army returned to the area and established Fort Wolters in the 1960s. It is noteworthy that if you flew a helicopter in Viet Nam, you probably spend a few months training in Mineral Wells.
This time around, the designation of Fort, rather than Camp, indicated that the military presence would be forever. (Forever ended in 1974). The “one horse” economy once again collapsed and a mass migration from the town ensued.
Within 12 to 18 months, Texas was fortunate to host an oil boom, and many oil and gas related companies acquired facilities from the privatization of the old Fort Wolters.
It was rock 'n' roll for almost 10 years until the oil and gas activity declined in the 1980s and Mineral Wells suffered its last genuine bust.
This time around, the out-migration was somewhat less than during the past economic downturns. The community had started building a more diverse industrial base.
Today, Mineral Wells has one of the most stable and diverse economic bases in the north Texas region. Over 1,000 new manufacturing jobs have been created, and we do not have a single large industrial base in the area. The fact that no one entity or area of endeavor makes up the majority of the industrial base means that a downturn in any one economic sector should no longer cripple the Mineral Wells economic engine.
Sources for economic information: Mineral Wells-Palo Pinto County Area Growth Council, Texas Department of Transportation, Oncor Electric Delivery.
