On Wednesday I blogged about the Mystery of the Grottos at Lovers Retreat in Mineral Wells.With the mystery being where is this intriguing looking grotto and does it still exist or is it under the water of Mineral Wells Lake?
Yesterday the mystery was at least partially solved by my newest Facebook Friend, Sherry B.
Sherry B commented the following...
"How interesting! I was looking for it too. I live in Weatherford and run a website about all the attractions & events in Parker & Palo Pinto, so this is something I've wanted to find. I did some research today and turns out; the location is 4 miles outside of the town of Palo Pinto. It is now private and is no longer accessible to visitors. The main clue to the exact location says that the property is located just to the North of where the highway crosses Eagle Creek. Too bad it's not public anymore. I would LOVE to explore it!"
Sherry B pointed me towards several interesting photos of the Grotto at Lovers Retreat. One is a current day look at the scene in the above old postcard.
Another of the Sherry B photos is another old postcard of Lovers Retreat.
On the postcard it says, "New Suspension Bridge at Lover's Retreat near Mineral Wells, Texas. The South's Greatest Health Resort."Note the use of an apostrophe before the 's' in Lovers. In the previous blogging about Lovers Retreat we learned that one of the versions of the reason for the name was it was named after a guy, last name of Lovers, with no apostrophe needed before the 's', but with one maybe needed after the 's'. Maybe Lovers Retreat is like Devils Tower and Pikes Peak, where the apostrophe indicating a possessive noun is discarded. The apostrophe controversy just adds to the mystery.
The other apostrophe version has the grotto named after a pair of Indian lovers, which would make the name Lover's Retreat.
The final picture is the modern day look at the now old New Suspension Bridge. If this used to be the South's Greatest Health Resort, why is it not accessible to today's public who want to be healthy?I think Sherry B and I should sneak on to this private property and check out the Grotto at Lovers Retreat. If anyone sees us we can hide in one of the caves. That works out well about half the time.
