having curative powers by many including local doctors, and were quite a tourist attraction.
The developers built a 100 foot wide by 300 foot long man-made lake from about the park's present center entrance across land now occupied by the Little League baseball fields. It ran generally east-west between the bottom of the hill at the park entrance and the creek that runs south of the Little League field. The lake was used for boating and swimming and also contained ducks and geese. Men's and women's changing rooms once stood approximately where the Little League ball field is now.
The Dellwood Hotel and park opened for business in 1909 and was a resounding success. It was known far and wide.
Mr. Moore worked at Dellwood Park when he was young. The park had donkey rides and other tourist attractions. Mr. Moore said one of the park's main attractions was "Booger" Red's Show. It was a rodeo, but he said they didn't call it a rodeo then. Booger Red built a fence out of ropes and posts so if horses hit them the fences wouldn't hurt the horses or riders. The audience sat in grandstands around the fenced area. The show's first feature was bucking horses, but its main attraction was a bull named Andy that had never been ridden. All the cowboys and local guys tried to ride him, but Andy would buck them off.
J. G. Ferguson traded for a Flying Jennie (an early merry-go-round) operated by a small steam boiler and engine. The steam engine pulled a cable that rotated the Flying Jennie's horses. Mr. Ferguson put the Flying Jennie in Dellwood Park and his son Walter and Mr. Moore operated the ride
There were few cars and most people traveled long distances by train in the early 1900s. To accommodate out-of-town visitors and bring local visitors from downtown, Dellwood's developers built a motorized trolley (a street car line). It ran from the intersection of present-day East First and East Second Streets down East First Street to about Florey Avenue. There it turned south to Dellwood Park. A small gasoline engine powered the trolley. Mr. Moore was the conductor and Jim (J. A.) Davis was the engineer. It cost a nickel to ride the trolley (about $1.10 in 2007 dollars).
The United Confederate Veterans chose Dellwood as the site for their 1909 Texas state reunion. Several thousand veterans descended on Mt. Pleasant for the reunion with some arriving several days early. Mr. Moore's father, Mt. Pleasant Mayor J.V. Moore, gave the opening address. Legend has it that so many attended the reunion that they ate all of the available food in town. The Confederate reunion also forced permanent changes in the Dellwood trolley. The trolley had a seating capacity of about twenty, but during the reunion as many as sixty crowded on at once. The extra weight overtaxed the trolley's small gas engine and ruined it. A trailer had been built to help carry passengers, but it could not be used after the engine broke down. From then on, the trolley was pulled by horses or mules.
The resort's business boomed through early 1910. The hotel couldn't accommodate all the people who came to Dellwood, so the developers built small cabins throughout the park that they called "flats" to accommodate the crowds.
Mr. Moore said that in 1910 a man named Matt Presley drove to Mt. Pleasant in a Model 17 Buick owned by a man in Jacksonville. The Model 17 was a 2-cylinder, chain driven car with planetary transmission and was the first car in Mt. Pleasant with pneumatic tires. Mr. Ferguson traded the Flying Jennie for the car and Walter Ferguson and Mr. Moore were the first ones to drive it around Mt. Pleasant. They took people for rides in Dellwood Park for 25 cents. Later after the resort failed they used the car to drive anyone where needed.
In latter 1910 business began to waver as the motor vehicle age took hold in America. Park and hotel tourism suddenly fell off and the hotel failed. People began to travel for recreation rather than visiting parks, and the Red Mineral Springs Development Company went defunct.
According to Mr. Moore, in 1912 the Chamber Of Commerce tried to think of something to do with the hotel. They asked A. C. Speer, who operated a school at Lancaster, Texas to locate his school here.
When he saw the almost new hotel, he jumped at the chance and leased the property from its owners. Mr. Speer started a private boys' preparatory school in the hotel building, which Mr. Moore and about 15 other local boys attended. The school had over 100 students. The Speer school was successful through 1912 and 1913, but attendance dropped and it closed. The land was turned back to Dr. Fleming.
The hotel was used for dances and other civic activities, then later rented for rooms and apartments, but ran down through use and lack of maintenance.
In 1923 a new golf club was organized in Mt. Pleasant. Membership was limited to fifty, and almost all openings filled quickly. Judge D.M. Cook supervised construction of a golf course in Dellwood Park that was completed in December, 1923. Four foot bridges were built across the branch that runs through the park so players could cross easily. Local golfers who had played other courses said the Dellwood course was one of the best in the area. The distances were right with the proper hazards, and no obstructions between the tees and holes. Apparently the golf club, like the famous resort, didn't last.
The Dellwood Hotel burned to the ground at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, November 11, 1928. According to newspaper accounts, it had not been used for several years except for times when it was partially occupied by a family or two. The news account speculated that someone set it on fire. The fire department rushed to the scene, but could not save the hotel due to lack of water. They tried pumping from the creek that runs through the park, but were unable to draft enough water to fight the fire.
Even after the lavish hotel was gone, Dellwood Park continued to attract national attention. In 1930, G. M. Orr of Dallas, who had visited Dellwood several years before and was given some of the water at dinner at a local hotel, tipped off Ripley's Believe It or Not. On Friday, February 7, 1930, Chamber of Commerce Secretary Pickett received a letter from Robert L. Ripley inquiring about Dellwood's red mineral springs. Mr. Pickett photographed the red and blue springs and sent samples of both waters to Mr. Ripley, accompanied by an affidavit that the water's color was genuine and came from the springs.
In researching this article, we contacted the Ripley's organization to see if they had a record of Dellwood Park and if we might obtain a copy of the cartoon. Mr. Edward Meyer, Vice President of Exhibits & Archives for Ripley Entertainment Inc., checked their records and found no record of Dellwood or the mineral springs. We don't know if the article was never published, or if by chance it simply isn't indexed or has been lost, but appreciate his checking for us.
All of the original buildings and other attractions are gone today. We are not aware of any trace of the original trolley tracks. Only two surviving artifacts hint at the park's former glory days. First are the remains of the concrete and brick steps that tourists once climbed to the hotel. They can still be seen on the hillside south of the swimming pool. They are located between the present-day band stand and the Boy Scout Hut. One mineral spring, now covered by a steel cover and preserved as a reminder of the park's former glory, sits southeast of the present band stand. A Texas Historical Marker was erected near the spring and steps to commemorate Dellwood's historic past.
In 1951 the City of Mount Pleasant acquired 49 acres of the land from A.G. Daniel, who had purchased it in 1949. The park has undergone several renovations under City control. A softball field was once located where the Central Fire Station now sits. The road from the main park entrance on Ferguson Road once looped through the park and intersected Florey Street. It was closed when the City built jogging tracks through the park. The city has added several pavilions for public use.
We feel fortunate to have obtained a photocopy of the original Dellwood Park promotional brochure and photos of the park in its former glory. The mineral springs' curative powers were nothing short of amazing, if you believe the brochure. But keep in mind that the brochure was printed before there was a U.S. Food and Drug Administration to oversee claims regarding medical products and procedures. Promoters could make any claim that they wanted without having to back them with scientific evidence. The testimonials cannot be taken at face value because we don't know if they were honest and heartfelt, or if the people were paid to make the claims, or if they were completely fabricated. At the time the brochure was printed, any of these circumstances were common and could have been the case.
The brochure also shows the springs and some of the other buildings and tourist attractions that once occupied the park.
