During the early nineteenth century Indians in Southeast Texas told the tale of a “Fire King” that lived under a small lake on the site now known as Sour Lake. The waters of the lake released spouts of gas and if lit they would burn a blue color across the top of the water. These flames are most likely what brought about the legend of the “Fire King.” The people of Texas recited this legend long after the Native Americans were removed from the area. The native oral tradition told that the ground itself caught fire and burned for months. The fire raged until a huge storm put out the flames and filled the lake. Centuries before the oil gushers were at Sour Lake, the Native Americans used the tar and oil that bubbled up to the surface of
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In 1835 the owner of the Sour Lake tract of land, Stephen Jackson, drank the waters of the lake. He initially thought he had been poisoned but soon began to feel rejuvenated. Jackson believed that the lake held medicinal properties. For more than a half-century after that people came from around Texas and Louisiana for it’s healing waters. The water in the lake was sulfurous due to the oil strata that lay beneath the surface. Completed in the eighteen-forties the hotel brought hundreds of visitors each year in search of the promised cures. Newspapers from El Paso to Washington D. C. told of the healing waters of the lake. These newspapers also told of the illustrious visitors that came for healing including the president of Texas, Sam Houston. The hotel and lake brought some money into the area. The hotel had as many as one hundred visitors at a time according to a local newspaper. As the only draw for people to come to the town, the Sour Lake Springs hotel and spa stayed in business as a medicinal resort until oil was struck in 1901. The discovery of oil changed the dynamics of the hotel from health to home. After the turn of the century people mostly visited the city in search of “black gold” and wealth. The hotel and mineral springs brought many visitors to the small community, but very few people lived in Sour Lake before the nineteen hundreds and travel to and from the city was
In 1835 the owner of the Sour Lake tract of land, Stephen Jackson, drank the waters of the lake. He initially thought he had been poisoned but soon began to feel rejuvenated. Jackson believed that the lake held medicinal properties. For more than a half-century after that people came from around Texas and Louisiana for it’s healing waters. The water in the lake was sulfurous due to the oil strata that lay beneath the surface. Completed in the eighteen-forties the hotel brought hundreds of visitors each year in search of the promised cures. Newspapers from El Paso to Washington D. C. told of the healing waters of the lake. These newspapers also told of the illustrious visitors that came for healing including the president of Texas, Sam Houston. The hotel and lake brought some money into the area. The hotel had as many as one hundred visitors at a time according to a local newspaper. As the only draw for people to come to the town, the Sour Lake Springs hotel and spa stayed in business as a medicinal resort until oil was struck in 1901. The discovery of oil changed the dynamics of the hotel from health to home. After the turn of the century people mostly visited the city in search of “black gold” and wealth. The hotel and mineral springs brought many visitors to the small community, but very few people lived in Sour Lake before the nineteen hundreds and travel to and from the city was