Mineral Wells is a city in Palo Pinto and Parker Counties in the U. S. state of Texas. The population was 16,788 at the 2010 census; the city is named for mineral springs in the area, which were popular in the early 1900s. In 1919, Mineral Wells hosted the spring training camp for the Chicago White Sox, the year of the famous "Black Sox" scandal involving "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. Mineral Wells hosted spring training for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals in the 1910s and early 1920s; the baseball field was located in the center of town. In 1952, Mineral Wells was the host of the Republican state convention in which delegates divided between presidential candidates Dwight D. Eisenhower and Senator Robert A. Taft. Though state chairman Orville Bullington of Wichita Falls led the Taft forces, the convention vote went 33-5 in favor of Eisenhower, thereafter nominated and elected. Mineral Wells is most famous for its Baker Hotel. Mineral Wells hosts a variety of purportedly paranormal hauntings and ghost tours including the Baker Hotel, the Crazy Water Hotel, the Haunted Hill House.

The "Crazy Well" was so named after the symptoms of a woman with mental illness were observed to improve after drinking the water for an extended period. Cures for a variety of other illnesses have been attributed to the "Crazy Water", but not supported by scientific evidence. One medical historian noted that lithium is present in trace amounts in many Texas wells, is currently used as a treatment for depression. Mineral Wells is located at 32°48′31″N 98°6′7″W. Mineral Wells lies east of the Brazos Palo Pinto Mountains. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.2 square miles, of which 20.5 square miles of it are land and 0.7 square miles of it is covered by water. Mineral Wells is 51 miles west of Fort Worth and 109 miles east of Abilene; as of the census of 2000, there were 16,946 people, 5,707 households, 3,857 families residing in the city. The population density was 828.6 people per square mile. There were 6,386 housing units at an average density of 312.2 per square mile.

The racial makeup of the city was 77.69% White, 8.77% African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.65% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 10.50% from other races, 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.27% of the population. There are 5,707 households, of which 31.7% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.4% are classified as non-families by the United States Census Bureau. Of 5,707 households, 373 are unmarried partner households: 348 heterosexual, 18 same-sex male, 7 same-sex female households. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.4% had someone living alone, 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older.

The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 120.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 123.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,233, the median income for a family was $33,765. Males had a median income of $29,074 versus $18,633 for females; the per capita income for the city was $13,336. About 16.6% of families and 20.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.2% of those under age 18 and 11.9% of those age 65 or over. The climate in this area is characterized by high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year; the Köppen climate classification describes the weather as humid subtropical, uses the code Cfa. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Mineral Wells District Parole Office in Mineral Wells; the Corrections Corporation of America operated the Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility in the Fort Wolters Industrial Park on behalf of the TDCJ. It closed in August 2013.

The correctional facility, operated by CCA since 1995, is located on the property of the former Fort Wolters in Palo Pinto County and in Mineral Wells. It can house up to 2,100 prisoners; as of March 2013 its annual payroll was $11.7 million and it was among the largest employers in Mineral Wells, with about 300 employees. On Monday March 4, 2013 the Texas Senate Senate Finance Committee voted 11-4 to close the correctional facility. Mike Allen, the mayor of Mineral Wells, criticized the closure, saying "We'll lose right at over 300 jobs, 300 jobs in a community of 17,000... is devastating. This means a lot to this community." John Whitmire, the head of the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee, said "We're sitting on about 12,000 empty beds, so it just makes good business sense... that we not operate it, we take those savings and plow them back into additional public safety programs."The United States Postal Service operates the Mineral Wells Post Office. Zip codes are 76067 and 76068. In June 2019, a complaint was filed against Mayor Christopher Perricone and American Precision Ammunition president Matt Campbell.

It alleged that Perricone had provided false material information under sworn oath during a March hearing before the Appraisal Review Board to contest the taxable value on Campbell's property. The Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office said in July that his department had concluded its investigation, the matter was referred to the Texas Rangers for further investigation. I

WEMB is a radio station which served the Tri-Cities region of Johnson City/Kingsport/Bristol in Tennessee and Bristol in Virginia. The outlet, owned by WEMB, Inc. was licensed to Tennessee. The call letters EMB represented the initials of Elvia Meadows Blakemore, wife of Max Blakemore, who built the station over his pharmacy, Clinchfield Drug on Main Avenue in Erwin. WEMB's first broadcast license was granted June 6, 1956. In June 1985, a gunman with two rifles held the station hostage for five hours. Lyle Shelton of Erwin interrupted a WEMB news broadcast in which WEMB news editor-in-chief Kathy Thornberry mentioned his recent arrest. Shelton told disc jockey Charles "Chuck" Ray. "He said he wanted to tell the truth," Ray told police. Broadcasting was shut down during the crisis. A SWAT Team from nearby Johnson City was ordered to surround the station. At the request of his wife, who spoke to him through a megaphone, Shelton walked out of the building and surrendered to police custody. No shots were fired.

The WEMB, Inc. trust was formed upon the 1994 death of James True. In True's will, he left ownership of the station to be managed by General Manager James Crawford, Production Manager Charles Ray, Operations Manager Hilda White. True decided the trust was to manage station affairs, with benefits being dealt to True's three adult children, until his eldest daughter turned 50 years old. True's daughter Maria D. True, having no experience in radio or broadcasting, disbanded the partnership and leased the station to NBC Sports Radio. In 1966, the station moved offices and broadcasting headquarters to Riverview Road, just south of Erwin, due to severe flooding of the Nolichucky River. In 2016, the WEMB, Inc. partnership was disbanded. Afterward, an application for license reinstatement was dismissed by the FCC. Query the FCC's AM station database for WEMB Radio-Locator Information on WEMB Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WEMB

The Finsterwalder Speedfex is a German high-wing, single-place, hang glider and produced by Finsterwalder. The Speedfex was designed as man-packable double-surface competition glider for cross country flying; as such the Speedfex weighs only 29.5 kg and can be reduced to a folded size of 2.05 m The aircraft is made from aluminum tubing, with the wing covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its 10 m span wing is cable braced from a single kingpost; the nose angle is 130° and the aspect ratio is 7.1:1. The pilot hook-in weight range is 70 to 110 kg; the glider is certified as DHV Class 2. Data from BertrandGeneral characteristics Crew: one Wingspan: 10 m Wing area: 14 m2 Aspect ratio: 7.1:1 Empty weight: 29.5 kg Gross weight: 139.5 kg Performance Stall speed: 30 km/h Never exceed speed: 80 km/h Maximum glide ratio: 12:1 Wing loading: 10.0 kg/m2 Official website