[A Fire in Mineral Wells, Texas]

This picture is probably a photograph of the fire which destroyed the Delaware Hotel (Formerly known as the St. Nicholas Hotel) on North Oak Avenue at NE 3rd Street. The open ditch in the right foreground shows that the streets were not paved, indicating that the fire occurred prior to 1914. The pump-and-ladder fire wagon used to battle the fire was drawn by two beautiful white horses named Joe and Frank. The hotel was never rebuilt. The standing building in the photograph is Mineral Wells Grain and Feed, but its location has not been confirmed. The signification of the number "6" on the picture invites conjecture