Reconstruction was ending and the Texas frontier was gone.  Travel by railway was convenient and people were moving about seeking opportunities for an improved life.  Among the interesting fads of the day was the operation of mineral water bath houses.

In that time Wootan Wells appeared.  The moving spirit was Francis Marion Wootan, who came to Texas in 1872, stopped for a time in Bremond, and in March 1873, purchased 51 1/2 acres of land from John Coleman Roberts, for the purpose of farming.  Wootan moved with his family to the land in 1874.

After four years of cotton farming, Wootan dug a well to supply his family and livestock with water.  In the spring of 1878, he drew a sample of the water for examination.

When Mrs. Wootan washed dishes, the plates turned a bright yellow, and on the following day, she washed clothes and the garments turned red.  The mysterious chemical reaction in the water fascinated Francis Wootan.

Farmer Wootan drew a sample and sent it to Dr. W. M. Mew, a U. S. Navy chemist, and the doctor forwarded it to Professor C. F. Chambler in New York.  The analysis ended with the following sentence:  "The water contains several minerals making it suitable for drinking and for baths in a health resort."

Instantly, the Wootan Farm became valuable.  Rumors spread that people had gone to the well when very sick and after consuming the water, "became whole again."  The demand for small plats of land grew and Mr. Wootan accommodated buyers, dividing most of the land over-and-over again, until there were several hundred owners of parcels of the original farm.

In 1880, Wootan formed a partnership with T. W. Wade, who organized a company for the purpose of bottling the water and converting the place into a modern town.  His purpose was to make the hill a health resort.  The company, then called The Wootan Wells Company, built a bottling plant and for a dozen years the enterprise prospered and the population of the area grew.

In 1881, promoter Wade proposed the development of the area into a health haven of hotels, cottages, stores, and entertainment features.  Within months, three additional wells were dug, and four hotels were built.  The promoter also built a mule-drawn train and railways "to take water to the main line and bring visitors to the resort."

The promotion of the resort was an instant success.  In 1883, the company had four stockholders:  T. W. Wade, R. H. Wade, William McKinney, and Francis M. Wootan.  Wade then supervised the building of two long rows of cottages, a large dance pavilion, additional bath houses, and the spa became the most fashionable in the state.

By 1890, Wootan Wells was known by people in all parts of the nation.  There were more than 200 permanent residents, and the summer population exceeded 2,000.  The Texas business directory reported:  "Wootan Wells derives its name from the celebrated wells located there which have gained an enviable reputation through the country."

People from many states came to the spa.  Guest took rooms in the hotels and young and old alike bathed in the water.  They danced to the music of a Mexican band, and rode the mule-drawn train.  Western Union built a station and Wells Fargo took charge of shipping water over the nation.  People came by passenger train to the junction of the main lines and some came by wagons and carriages.

F. M. Wootan was the first postmaster.  Before 1900, there were over thirty business establishments, including offices of six physicians.  G. H. Higginbotham had a billiard and games concession, A. S. Lane operated a general merchandise store, William Goodwin was a wagon maker, Edward McGlaun ran a grist mill, and Willis Martin was the part-time operator of the Willis mule train.

A. C. Walker went to the resort in 1883, and remained until 1894, as the operator of a store.  He moved to Bremond in 1895.

Mrs. C. C. Hill, daughter of J. W. Turner, who spent a week at the Wootan Hotel in 1884, wrote that the town was a place of "roaring fun."  Wootan Wells was spread out among pretty trees and there were cottages surrounding the hotels and bath houses.  In the spring and summer, life picked up and thousands of people registered at the wells.

Willis Martin, when interviewed in 1950, said:

"I attended dances at the pavilion and parties at the hotel.  I remember Governor Hogg and his daughter, Ima, and the people who gathered to greet them.  They were wonderful, friendly people."

The men enjoyed riding fine horses, and women parties, games, and sing songs.  People came with plenty of money and they spent it fast.  Big dances were common and the Chataugua was attended by hundreds.  Mr. Wade once told me the place was worth over a million dollars."

 Turner Hubby, a famous Waco marksman, enjoyed the skeet shooting at the Wells.  There are accounts of horse races over the hill, fishing at Flag Lake, and drinking bouts at the local saloon which was called "Well No. 5."

Lloyd Campbell, who lived with his mother in the Sumner House, remembered 1899, and the flood that made the western side of Robertson County a "shallow sea."

"It rained sixteen inches and the buildings at the Wells were severely damaged.  The water remained for two months and when it receded, it left gorge-like holes and all the roads to and from the place were gone."

Ralph Wade said the flood cost the company a half million dollars to restore the resort.

Mrs. Fay Bailey Albritton, the granddaughter of Frances Wootan, wrote some of her memories of the town.  Her father, J. P. Bailey, drove the mule care in 1883.

"The Company got in debt because of depressions, the flood, droughts, and my grandfather sold his interest in the enterprise and moved to Bremond.  In 1903, mineral water was discovered in Marlin, just fifteen miles to the north, and thereafter, the new place drew people from the old Wells that were not as they had been in former years.  On August 1, 1906, Wootan Wells was sold to Ralph Wade by the stockholders and by 1909, Wade was unable to pay for the property.  D. M. Prendergast, who held first mortgage against it, demanded that it be sold at auction in Franklin.  At the auction from the courthouse steps, Prendergast bought the resort for $10,000.00 because he was the highest bidder."

Through the first decade of the twentieth century, the Wells continued to be a place of interest, then "things began to happen."  The first sign of the end was the destruction of one of the large hotels by fire, then the original bath house over Well No. 1 burned.  In 1902, workmen cleared the burned material away and "a good number of people came in the summer of 1903."