History of the Baker Hotel by Bob Hopkins
The young woman walks the halls of the seventh floor, endlessly searching for those she knew. Pausing briefly for an echo, a brief sound silenced long ago. She attempts a glimpse of a time more familiar. As if in a dream she recalls faint memories of her childhood. The hardships of a poor farming family forced from their home by dry fields and spineless bankers. She searches for acquaintances, for the profession that took her far from the backbreaking cotton fields of west Texas. She searches for the man whose fondness kept her in comfort, in the modest corner suite. She is fortunate indeed. She searches the lonely halls for a time, a time left in the memories of only a few. She searches for a life she knew all too well. A life which offered very little for a homeless farm girl. Some believe she still occupies the corner suite. They sense her presence. They smell her perfume near the room she once occupied before her suicide many years before. She still lingers. She and others who call the Baker hotel in Mineral Wells their eternal home.
Once a very lavish hotel, the huge Baker was the site of many wonderful times. Set in the backdrop of the bustling early twentieth century, the Baker was a reflection of all that America was. The hotel, born at the beginning of the great depression, survived the financial hardships of the era to witness the greatest war mankind has ever seen. Becoming one of the states most lavish resorts, the Baker built a magnificent reputation that attracted people from all walks of life for one reason or another. One may find the history of the grand old hotel very interesting. That history could well be a key to some of its permanent guests. In 1877, a man by the name of James A. Lynch came to Palo Pinto County from his previous home near Denison, Texas on the Red River. Upon arrival to the Palo Pinto hills he ran into a bit of bad luck. Both of his oxen died. This put the Lynches in a pickle because they had to haul water from the Brazos River, eight miles to the west, to their home in the valley about 45 miles west of Fort Worth. Mr. Lynch decided to dig a well on his property to put an end to his water needs and employed a traveling well digger to do the job. Soon he had bona fide water well in his yard but was disappointed to discover that the water from his well had a foul odor and thought to be undrinkable. In time; however, Mrs. Lynch, who suffered from severe arthritis began drinking the water. Soon, signs of her illness had completely disappeared. Word, of course, soon got out about the curing waters on the Lynch place and people began to arrive to sample a drink of this foul water. Mr. Lynch realized he had just discovered a liquid gold mine. Before long more wells were dug in the area bringing more and more people. Soon the town was given the name Ednaville but shortly after changed to Mineral Wells as hordes of people flocked there to drink and bathe in the healing mineral water. By 1910, Mineral Wells was considered a national health spa. By the early 1920s the successful spa city quickly began to see the development of many small hotels and boarding houses to facilitate the annual 100,000 plus visitors. The city fathers recognized the need for more luxurious accommodations for the prestigious groups of people who began to travel there to partake in the medicinal mineral water. In 1914 the Crazy Water Hotel was erected and became the center of activities but suffered a devastating fire in March 1925, which destroyed most of the building. It was at that time, because of the success of the Crazy Water, that a man by the name of T. B. Baker, a wealthy hotel businessman, decided to build a grand hotel in Mineral Wells that would closely resemble the Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Mr. Baker owned several hotels throughout Texas at that time. Among them were the St. Anthony, the Gunther, and Menger in San Antonio, the Stephen F. Austin in Austin, the Texas Hotel in Ft. Worth, the Baker Hotel in Dallas, the Goodhue in Port Arthur, the Galvez in Galveston, the Edison in Beaumont, and the Sterling in Houston. Construction on the Baker began about 1926 and was completed in 1929, for $1,250,000.00. The facility was magnificent, reflecting the sprawling spirit of the roaring twenties. Towering fourteen stories it stood out over the small town of 7,000 residents like a brown brick giant. The hotel housed approximately 460 guest rooms, two complete spas, and what is said to be, the first Olympic size swimming pool in the United States. The Baker could rival any plush hotel In New York or Chicago. Many celebrities visited or performed at the Baker, according to some of the old timers and the old registers. Such names as the Three Stooges, Clarke Gable, Judy Garland, Will Rogers, Marlene Dietrich, General John Pershing, L.B.J., Jean Harlow, Sam Goldwyn, Sammy Kay, Dr. Charles Mayo, Jack Dempsey, Sam Rayburn, Helen Keller, Ronald Reagan and Mary Martin, just to name a few. According to an article in Palo Pinto County History Vol. 1, a waiter recalled a $2.00 tip given him by the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, although he didn’t recognize them at the time. Many Big Bands blasted out their tunes from the Sky Room at the top of the building or in the Brazos Room located on the first floor. Lawrence Welk remembered his starting out days at the Baker when he could barely speak English. He commented that the Baker was one of the most lavish hotels he played at during those days. Other named entertainers of the time that visited the Baker included Guy Lombardo, Paul Whiteman, Dorothy Lamoure, and later, Pat Boone. World War II ushered in a new era for the hotel. Fort Wolters, an Army Basic Training Center grew to be the largest infantry replacement base in the country. As many as 30,000 soldiers passed through its gates in 1942 alone. The Baker was at its peak as it catered to both civilian and military personnel alike. Life in America, however, began to change by the 1950s. The FDA was becoming a strong influence in the way medical treatment and medications were being distributed. Government crackdowns in advertising of cure-all tonics and mineral waters changed the way we viewed medicine. New drugs such as antibiotics and preventive medicines soon began to take the mainstream of the health field as the needs of the mineral waters began to fade. The interstate system in the late 1960s and early 1970s re-routed the main flow of traffic out of the city of Mineral Wells. I-20, passing 14 miles to the south, cut off a major financial artery to the small town.
In 1952, Mr. T.B. Baker, getting on in years, retired. He had no children but left his successful hotel empire to his nephew, Earl M. Baker who was himself very successful in the Baker Hotel business.
Earl Baker, who lived in San Antonio, said he would continue to operate the Baker in Mineral Wells until his 70th birthday. True to his word, on April 30th, 1963, the Baker closed its doors. But not for long. A group of civic leaders gained enough capital to re-open the hotel in 1965. Unfortunately, with very little profit, the hotel was forced to close for good in 1970. In a strange twist of fate, Mr. Earl Baker was visiting the Baker hotel for one last time on December 3, 1967. He died suddenly of a massive heart attack. It was as if the hotel engaged in a final act of revenge for the declining years of glory and subjugated neglect.
In 1973, the Army closed Fort Wolters
resulting in another major blow to the economy of Mineral Wells. By the late
1970s the city had fallen on hard times, loosing one third of its population.
The oil and gas industry had moved in and sparked a bit of hope but by 1985 it
too went bust leaving the town once again desperate for an economic future.
Although the city of Mineral Wells has recovered to a small degree, its once
beautiful hillsides are slowly being depleted by local brick plants and the
factory dependent town survives on a low socio-economic base, far from the
glorious days of yesteryear and the success of the mineral waters.
In 1982 the owners of the Baker auctioned all the interior furniture and many of
the original fixtures; however, even in its state of ghostly decay, one can
still sense the glamour of days gone by and feel the radiance of its heyday.
Gone are the starlets, the proud men in uniform, the big bands, the conventions,
and hosts of others who made the Baker a memorable part of their lives. But
perhaps some never left at all or have returned to forever experience a time
when Mineral Wells was one of north Texas finest cities. The stories of ghosts
and hauntings began in the Baker long before it ever closed. A porter who
worked there during the 1950s and 1960s was the first known to witness the ghost
of the woman on the seventh floor. A story is told of a woman who was a
possible mistress of the hotel manager. Distraught from her affair she jumped
to her death from the top of the building. The year of the incident has not
been verified but the room she stayed in, apparently quite comfortably, was a
suite on the southeast corner of the seventh floor. Many have reported smelling
her perfume and she is said to be quite flirtatious with men she may fancy.
Recently a woman, who worked as a maid in the hotel, reported that on several
occasions she found glasses in the room with red lipstick stains on the rims.
This took place at times when no one was staying in the room. Jane Catrett who
is assisted by Ronny Walker now manages the building. Ronny manages tours of the
building on weekends when time allows and is quite knowledgeable on the history
of the hotel as well as the reports of a few sightings of disembodied guests,
from time to time. Ronny reported one night he was near the main lobby on the
first floor when he heard the distinct sound of a woman in high heals walking
across the lobby. Thinking the footsteps to be those of Jane Catrett he yelled
out her name; however, the footsteps faded away and upon further inspection,
Ronny found himself all alone. Later he discovered that Jane had not been in
the building that day. On another occasion, Ronny reported being on the 7th
floor re-setting an electrical breaker to the Christmas lights, which
continuously tripped every night during display. As he was inspecting the fuse
box, attempting to locate the breaker switch, he heard the footsteps of an
unseen person walking up to his left - quietly - as if not to bother him. A bit
startled, he turned to look and saw no one. Ronny spoke to the possible ghosts
and assured them he meant no harm. After that night the lights never tripped
off again. On one other occasion, Mrs. Anita Powell, owner of Anita’s Antiques &
Collectibles reported that back about 1980, she had an art shop on the bottom
floor of the Baker and would occasionally give tours of the building. She
recalled one particular afternoon she had a tour of W.W.II veterans and their
spouses. As the group entered the Brazos Room on the first floor, which was the
main dining room and dance area, a couple directly in front of her stopped. The
woman looked at her husband and asked, Do you hear that? He replied, Why, I
certainly do. About that time Anita reported that several in the group began to
hear the sounds of dishes and silverware clanking as well as people talking and
orchestra music in the background. Most of the people there reported to have
witnessed this event. Anita said it never happened before nor since but she was
sure they were experiencing ghostly echoes of a time long past. The most eerie
story of the old Baker would have to be the tragic tale of the death of a young
elevator operator by the name of Douglas Moore. The original story was told that
in 1948, Douglas went to work at the Baker and quickly began to earn a lot of
money for an elevator operator. After a while of gained financial employment,
Douglas confessed to his mother that he had become a minor part of an illegal
prostitution racket in the hotel. His mother insisted that he quit. Douglas
went a step farther and reported the happenings to the local authorities not
knowing that some were actually involved in the ring. Douglas was suddenly laid
off but was called back to work two weeks later. Upon returning to his job he
found himself in the basement playing around in the service elevator late one
night with two other bellboys. This particular elevator had a call button that
would send it rapidly from the basement to the top elevator room without
stopping. It was reported by the other two boys that one of them accidentally
depressed the call button when Douglas was not completely inside the elevator;
the elevator suddenly engaged trapping Douglass body halfway out and severing
him in two at the waist. The tragic developments were later discovered and many
believe the two boys were paid to kill young Douglas. Some have reported seeing
the ghost of Douglas lurking about in the basement area. Some say that only the
upper portion of his body and his head can be seen, the lower portion is of
course, missing. While on one of my personal visits to the Baker, I must admit,
this location, where the young boy died, was the one that just gave me a very
uneasy feeling. In a discussion with a local psychic, then later with a distant
relative of Douglass did I learn the true story of the death of the hard working
young man? Douglas apparently was never a part of a prostitution ring. Actual
he was a 15-year-old boy who came from a poor family. He never drove a fancy
car, which some have said and didn’t make a lot of money. Douglas and his
friend, Logan Shoemake, were horsing around one evening as teenagers do. Logan
was operating the service elevator. As the elevator had no guard on it one could
hop aboard, as it was moving. The elevator operated by Logan was going up. As
it raised about four to five feet above the floor level, young Douglas
attempted to jump in. His friend Logan saw he couldn’t make it and attempted to
pull him in. Douglass body was crushed at the waist. He died within half an
hour of the accident. The Baker Hotel paid for all funeral arrangements. It was
a tragic event and one, which, the family never fully recovered from. A young
woman who worked at a local drive through bank in the early to mid 1990s
reported she and the other girls in the office faced the huge Baker everyday
from their workstations. During slow times they began to notice windows opened
on various floors of the Baker. Then later they would notice them closed and
others would be opened. After a while they began to take note and count, which
were opened and closed. They seemed to move around.
One of the girls told the others it must be the man who lives in the building and takes care of it. After that, the interest ceased and they stopped noticing. The strange thing is, no one has ever stayed in the Baker at any time since its closure in 1970. There never was a caretaker living in the Baker so just who was opening and closing the windows?
In the spring of 2000, I spoke with a local Mineral Wells woman who claimed to be a psychic. She has wished to remain anonymous for fear of ridicule in such a small town. I for one certainly understand. She told me, ever since she was a young girl; she has had the ability to see spirits. She said she had been in the Baker many times and even ran a shop on the outside first floor back in the early 1980s.
She said the stories are true. The Baker is very haunted but not like we think. It is mostly occupied with ghosts who didn’t necessarily die there but who returned because the Baker was a place of wonderful times in their lives. She went on to say that most of the spirits in the hotel do not want to be seen nor heard with the exception of a small child. A little boy, about six to eight years old, who has been the only one to communicate with her. He told her he died in the hotel in an apartment back in 1933 when his parents moved there to seek medicinal treatment for his leukemia. She reported a large shaggy dog always accompanied the child and he was always bouncing a ball, which he would do to get her attention. She said he was watched by an older woman who was unknown but was always near him. The psychic went on to tell me the spirits don’t necessarily look the age they were when they died. Some were employees of the building. One she said, for reasons she doesn’t understand, was a helicopter pilot who attended basic flight training at Ft. Wolters in the 1960s. He was killed in a helicopter crash while at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. He had returned to the Baker with his body in the same traumatic state as resulting from the crash. With so many sightings in such a landmark, it was time to see if any of it could be proven. In October 2000, two Paranormal Investigation teams, DFW Ghostwatchers from Dallas and Lone Star Spirits from Houston were contacted to perform a full-scale investigation of the facility. With about $100,000.00 worth of high tech audio-visual and other scientific instrumentation the teams began a full-scale research mission on the Baker that took three visits to complete. Literally, investigator Dusty Rainbolt, of DFW, using a digital camera, photographed hundreds of orbs. Orbs, report some experts, are the actual spirits of the dead. The orbs were photographed throughout the building with the largest concentration being on the 14th, 7th, 5th floors and the basement. Dusty also captured an orb partially hidden behind a door which she said was most unusual.
She also captured, what appeared to be, two very distinct ecto mist apparitions in the 14th floor ballroom. Another photographer/investigator, Weems Hutto, also of DFW, was taking still frame shots with a 35 mm at the same time and captured what appeared to be another ecto mist just above the first photographer. Another psychic who accompanied the team reported seeing an old woman in a wheelchair located in the southeast corner of the ballroom who kept saying, I can’t do it, I can’t do it. The most active floor one night was the fifth floor. Donna, the psychic with the group, began to feel hesitant and nauseous as she moved toward the west end of the fifth floor. She said someone was trying to make the team sick so they would leave. She refused to go any farther in that direction. Later, members of Lone Star Spirits who visited the area began to choke and cough in the same spot, unknowing of Donna’s previous experience. Donna was then drawn to a room on the north end of the fifth floor where she sensed a young woman making rustling sounds with her dress. Donna reported the young girl to be moving too and fro to make sure her makeup was just right. She said the spirit would wonder around the men and was especially attracted to a certain one in the group. She went on to say there was a man at the door about to knock to escort her to a dance in the Sky Room. Another psychic named Wayne, who later joined the group on the fifth floor, confirmed Donna’s findings. He added that he had picked up on the disgust and discomfort on the west end and said it was occupied by a large disgusting man who wanted everyone to leave. Wayne said he found suffering and disease in the area. A time-lapse video camera was placed in the Brazos room on the first floor and recorded various moving objects over a four-hour period. 151 to be exact. The room had been closed off to the party and entrance was not allowed by anyone living. Most of the objects could have been dust in the air reflecting off the light but some were visible moving orbs, especially in the hallway. An audio of the basement elevator area captured the distinct sound of a man screaming as if in some kind of agony. A different group recorded the same sound on another investigation in June of 2001. It would have been very difficult for anyone in the team to mimic the sound because the area was locked as to keep everyone out. In the beginning of the expedition one of the members who claimed to get very nauseous when ever she gets around haunted places was unable to stay more than a few minutes in the old hotel before being forced to leave, very ill. In May 2001, a group of nine journalism students from Weatherford High School spent a Saturday night in the hotel, not really putting much interest in the ghost. The group, of course, thought different after their visit.
A picture taken of the students on the 14th floor ballroom shows them to be enveloped by hundreds of orbs, which they never saw with their eyes. Another picture taken by the only female in the group captures, what appears to be, the side of a woman’s head covered with long blond hair. No one in the group had blond hair, let alone, long blond hair. The picture was taken of a darkened room. With so much activity in the building it may be one of the most haunted places in Texas if not in the country. One psychic claimed to have counted at least 49 different spirits in the building. The investigations are not complete and will continue for some time hopefully with more proof of the restless spirits. The Baker is a grand old structure with thousands of stories of people during tragic as well as wonderful times in American history. There is no doubt that many people traveled through the building during their last days searching for some medicinal cure for a terrible illness. Many soldiers stationed at Ft. Wolters were known to visit the hotel for one last good time before shipping out to fight and die in World War II, Korea, and Viet Nam. Yes, the old Baker was a place of good times during bad ones. Once the playground for wealthy Texas cattle barons, oil tycoons, Hollywood celebrities, and military as well political leaders, the grand old place sits in decay reminding us of an era long gone. According to certain experts the building is still basically a structurally sound facility. Unfortunately, to completely renovate the building would take approximately 30 to 55 million dollars. With all that said one can’t help but look at the once prize hotel without feeling sadness at the spectacle of decay the Baker now represents. Like the mighty Titanic, sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor fading into time, the Baker sits in the middle of Mineral Wells, slowly wasting away and is a constant reminder of days of grandeur for a small Texas town. The hotel, apparently the home of many long gone patrons, who refuse to check out, may someday become but a memory of days long ago. So, if one ever gets the chance to visit the beautiful old place have respect for those who may still be there. Though the city of Mineral Wells had seen hard times a new attitude is beginning to emerge that may hopefully, rekindle the spark of opportunity that Mineral Wells was once known for. Tours of the Baker are performed on weekends during the warmer parts of the year. And if you happened to visit the seventh floor of the Baker Hotel, don’t be surprised if you catch the faint smell of a young lady’s perfume as she lurks the old halls in search of a time long gone.