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 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 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 Anitas 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. |
