Hot Wells
[Hot Wells, Harris County, Texas]
Some maps of the Houston area identify a location on Highway 290 - across 290 from the Compaq campus, and just short of Cypress - called “Hot Wells”. See, for example, this Mapquest map of Hot Wells (Hot Wells appears in the bottom right corner of the map). This map marking is a reference to a hot artesian well once located in Harris County.
The artesian well was discovered by wildcatters, in 1904, on the heels of Humble Oil’s major oil discovery at Moonshine Hill (near Humble). The wildcatters lost their drill bit and, in the course of a two-week search for the bit, chanced upon the artestian well. It didn’t take long for someone to see the well’s money-making potential, and soon there was developed on the site the Houston Hot Well Sanitarium - a hotel resort of sorts where Houstonians and others went to enjoy the allegedly theraputic hot mineral waters. The resort was conveniently located right next to the Southern Pacific line that still runs parallel to 290 in that area. In addition to large concerte basins of mineral water in which guests would soak, the sanitarium also featured an Olympic-size swimming pool and a dancing/bingo hall. The resort appears to have been the only one of its kind ever developed in the Houston area.
While today the site is occupied by the Hot Wells Shooting Range, there are still some vestiges of the old Hot Wells to be seen. Some can be seen in the above satellite photo - or by switching the above Mapquest map to satellite view, and centering and zooming in on the “Hot Wells” site.
More information:
CFISD.net, “History of CFISD”
I remember my dad taking the whole family to the big swimming pool at Hot Wells when I was a kid - it was his old stomping grounds (Cy-Fair HS Class of ‘57). We’re all local yokels - I grew up in this area (JVHS Class of ‘77). It’s been a long time…thanks for the information!
i too went to hot wells in the 60s what a great place it was jvhs class of 77 jeff kubicek
The ruin of hot wells is sad story. The City of Houston engulfed the area and demanded “health standards” which would have bankrupted the family who owned it. The city threatened to close down the whole place, so in desperation the family dynamited the lovely hot spring in its “home made” bath house which I recall well from childhood visits with my family. My dad was an old rodeo cowboy with bad arthritis from broken bones he got from getting tossed off bulls. The comfortably hot water really did relieve his aches and pains. The same family still owns the acreage, and lets out office space as well as running the shooting range. It is so sad to see the derelict olympic swimming pool which I remember being so bright and clean when I was a child. The family ran the place very well, I thought–the City was really nasty about not grandfathering the place and helping the owners adapt it gradually without bankrupting them. I have often wondered about the curious geology which is evidence of the only known geothermal resource in Harris County. One day this spring may flourish again; I hope the owners –a decent, hardworking family–are not swindled out of it.
Thanks for the Hot Wells memories. Remarkable that a place like this existed so close to town. It would be really great to see some old photos - I wasn’t able to find any.