mineral waters of marlin

The era of health/spa tourism is a fascinating chapter in American history, and the City of Marlin could do itself a huge favor by capitalizing on that. The fading murals on the walls near the Chamber of Commerce speak to a bygone era. Marlin seems to have had a fascinating history, but there seems to be no interest in preserving it. On a Saturday afternoon, nearly every business on the main street was closed. The fountain at the Chamber with the mineral water was a disgrace. Conrad Hilton's eighth hotel stands nearly in ruins a few steps from the mineral fountain-- what could be a destination point is a bat-infested shell of a building that looks more like a crack house than an historic building. That beautiful hotel was under construction as the stock market crashed in 1929, yet fewer than 100 years later, it lies in ruins after years of neglect. By spending more than a few minutes in town, you can tell that Marlin must've been awesome in its heyday. Too bad no one seems able to bring that back. This place really could be a cool, retro destination spot. But someone in Marlin needs to get the ball rolling.

I have been going to the healing water fountain for the last 3 years, the waters run hot and feel awesome...BUT city cutbacks have cost the fountain! They have no one that does clean up, the building is crumbling, and there is no lighting at night. The faucets are always broken and the foot bath is dirty. Chamber of Commerce Office is there in building and Cynthia is very nice and cares about the water, city and people of Marlin.... but it takes money and effort to make this a place to stop. The city that should treasure the gift of this water seems to want to turn it's back on it's history and proven medicinal attributes. I have been doing alternative health practices for 5 years and it seems to me that it is shunned here.

While visiting Marlin I stopped in at the Chamber to see the mineral waters....pretty disgusting. Some old fountains and container-filling spots there, but I wouldn't touch it. I'm sure once it was pretty unique and clean, but not worth the stop.

While the site itself doesn't have much besides a hot mineral water fountain and an empty footbath (at least it was empty when I visited), I found it a very interesting stop. Near the fountain are some faded murals depicting Marlin's past as a well-known health town, and just down the road is what's left of what was the eighth-built Hilton Hotel. It's intriguing to imagine this quiet, aging town in its heyday.

Having heard the stories about the springs over the years, I decided to make a detour off my path along Highway 6 one day to check it out for myself. the old downtown section of Marlin still has reminders of its glory days a century ago when folks from around the US and overseas would come to the bathhouses hoping to be healed of all sorts of ailments.The only thing you can actually interact with today is the springs pools that were the location of the first well back in the 1890s. It is maintained by the city who has their visitors center on the site.The water itself is warm and has a very unique feeling to it. In just a few seconds you can feel tingling in your body by just running your hands underneath the handwash fountains or by soaking your feet in the footbaths.There are monuments describing the history that made the location the first ever spring training site for Major League Baseball many years ago when the New York Giants became the first of several teams to set up shop in Marlin to workout and then soak in the healing waters.I intend to bring my kids by the place the next time up Highway 6 as it makes a terrific break from car trips and a chance for them to learn about Texas History firsthand.