A visit to Marlin's mineral well!

I had a chance to stop into Marlin to seek out her famous mineral well. A brother of a friend who lives there had told me that the well still exists. And indeed it does!

It's bit of a struggle to find if you don't know exactly where it's at. I assumed it would be in the middle of town on the courthouse grounds, but it was no-where to be found. After trolling the interwebs, I got closer but still no salty water. Finally, I asked a nearby wedding party (no joke) where the well was, and there it was, just a little farther down the street.

The well is located on Coleman Street just to the west of Marlin Inn (261 Coleman Street) and east of the railroad tracks.

(click to make larger; the large red dot marks the spot)

It's located under this structure:

which is the same one seen in some of the later postcards:

The structure has been modified somewhat in that several of the "bays" have been closed in and turned into offices.

And there's the well!

It still looks exactly the way it did in some of the later postcards. 

Earlier, the well head looked like this:

and, even earlier, in the good ole days, it looked like this:

Love the little dude holding an umbrella at the tippy top!

And yes, the well is still flowing after all these years...

Did I partake of the waters? You bet yer pippy pappy I did! Warm, salty, and sulphury. I didn't drink much (just a sip) since I didn't know where the closest bathroom was. These mineral waters can go right through ya (and take a lot with it!).

There's also a foot bath that wasn't running (although said brother of said friend later informed  me that you can turn on a valve and get down to business).

Not much of the other original buildings around. The only one I recognized was Hotel Falls a wee bit down the street (which is where the wedding was going down).

The original structures huddled around the well shown in the postcard below are no longer there, which is a shame (and something of a surprise since there ain't much going on in Marlin; must have burned down...).

Across the street is a fading mural documented the history of the well and its glory days.

Finally, here are some other post card images I have of Marlin's mineral well. I hope to go back to dip my toes in the water!