Waco Walks dives into history of early Waco tourist attraction, culture of Bell’s Hill area – Waco Tribune-Herald

A crowd huddled around Bevil Cohn bright and early Saturday outside Bells Hill Elementary School as she told the story of the man who pioneered the early tourist destination that led Waco to be known as Geyser City, centered partly around what is now the site of the school where the Cohn worked as principal for 33 years.

More than a century before the fame that came from Chip and Joanna Gaines hit renovation show, Fixer Upper, and the Magnolia empire that soon followed, Waco had a run as a famous tourist attraction for something else. It was the subject of a Waco Walks event Cohn led Saturday in the neighborhood.

In 1889, Joseph Daniel Bell, who was previously involved in mining activities, drilled the first in a series of artesian wells that produced hot water until the 1920s. Tales of the waters ability to miraculously cure a range of ailments led people from far and wide to travel to Geyser City, making the small town of Waco prosperous. Bell also supplied the city with water for drinking and other municipal purposes.

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He built 16 wells, including three where Bells Hill Elementary School now stands at Cleveland Avenue and 22nd Street. The water ran at about 104 degrees, it had to be cooled before usage, and shot upward from about 1,830 feet below the surface. It was reported that one of the wells produced about 1.5 million gallons of water a day, according to records in the Texas Collection at Baylor University.

Although the days of Geyser City have come and gone, Bells Hill is a neighborhood still filled with rich culture, interesting people and stories, Cohn said. Se said she wants more people to know more about Bell, who she kindly refers to as My Bell, and his influence on the early days of Waco.

I think my passion at this particular time is the history of Waco and sharing that history with young adults and even the children while I was at Bells Hill, Cohn said.

Wacoan Diane McDaniel said she had been to a few other walks hosted by Waco Walks prior to the pandemic.

I grew up in Waco, but I had never heard about the geyser so I was just interested to learn about it, McDaniel said.

The event Saturday also highlighted some of neighborhoods more-recent history and a few of its notable residents, from a former yo-yo champion to twin sisters Ramona and Winona Diamond, singers who performed as the Diamond Twins.

Paul Holder discussed his familys deep history in the Bells Hill community. The McLennan Community College government professor grew up in Bells Hill, and his parents owned and operated a hamburger restaurant, Stadium Drive-In, out of their garage until 1994. Holder reminisced on the range of people who would visit the drive-in near the former Floyd Casey Stadium, including Baylor University football coaches and players, such as running back Ronnie Bull. Jeff Holder, Pauls son, made the crowd laugh with his tales of his grandpa, who he called Pawpaw.

My Pawpaw would always give me a dollar, every time I hugged him, Jeff Holder said. Even when I was a freshman at Baylor I would come around and hug him.

Cohn said the house that serves as Historic Waco Foundations office on Fourth Street was formerly relocated from Bells Hill, where it was owned by the Hoffman family. A concrete company wanted to destroy the home, but the foundation was able to have it moved, Cohn said. The Hoffman family contained three children, two girls and one boy. The two girls, Fay and Bird, studied dance in New York and came back to Waco to teach classes and they were soon nicknamed the Hoffmanettes, Cohn said.

Anyone that took dance lessons, generations of Wacoans, took them from the Hoffmanettes, Cohn said.

Waco Walks organizer Ashley Bean Thornton said Saturdays walk was only able to cover a portion of the neighborhoods history and a second walk is already in the planning process.

Thornton said the rich history is one of the many things she enjoys about living in Waco.

Any aspect of American history, certainly from the Civil War until now, theres something you can still see in Waco that reflects that, Thornton said. Waco is a small enough place, but a big enough place, that you can really learn about it. I feel like my understanding of American history is so much more enriched from knowing this in-depth information about Waco history. It just puts a familiarity to it that you just dont get from reading about it.

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Waco Walks dives into history of early Waco tourist attraction, culture of Bell's Hill area - Waco Tribune-Herald