Wizard Wells, Texas Explained

Wizard Wells
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Texas#USA
Pushpin Label:Wizard Wells
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Jack
Unit Pref:Imperial
Population As Of:2000 est.
Population Total:69
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1158
Coordinates:33.2003°N -97.9711°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Postal Code:76458
Area Code:940
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:1350445

Wizard Wells is an unincorporated farming community in Jack County, Texas, United States. According to the Handbook of Texas, the community had a population of 69 in 2000.

History

Because a man named G. W. Vineyard controlled a large portion of the land, the settlement was formerly known as Old Vineyard. According to legend, Vineyard found that the spring waters on his property healed the sores on his legs in the 1880s. The settlers called the burgeoning settlement Wizard Wells due to the purported miraculous healing.[1] [2] Wizard Wells has long been a hub for the local farming community and a place to shop. Between 1920 and 1940, the town's population was approximately 175 people. The population of Wizard Wells began to gradually drop in the 1950s. The projected population of the village was 69 in 1986 and remained that way until 2000.

Butterfield Overland Mail had a stage stand in the community.[3]

Geography

Wizard Wells is located on Farm to Market Road 1156, 13miles east of Jacksboro in east-central Jack County.

Education

Today, the community is served by the Jacksboro Independent School District.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2019-05-06 . Wizard Wells: A Texas town where magic flows in the water . 2024-04-28 . wfaa.com . en-US.
  2. Book: Fowler, Gene . Crazy Water: The Story of Mineral Wells and Other Texas Health Resorts . 1991 . Texas Christian University Press . 978-0-87565-091-3 . en.
  3. Glen Sample Ely, The Texas Frontier and the Butterfield Overland Mail, 1858–1861, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Mar 4, 2016