Site of Abney Plunge

Abney's well was the county's first oil test, and water spoiled it, as it spoiled most of the others. More test wells went down between 1920 and 1922, and the Wittenburg well near Lometa in 1919, but groundwater kept them from paying. The exception was the Tiger Lily, drilled near Lometa in 1938. It paid at first but was later ruined by overacidizing, and its failure ended Lometa's hopes of an oil boom. The Handbook of Texas says the Abney well itself served as a sulfur or salt well until 1949.

What the plaque says

Site of Abney Plunge In 1902, local businessmen hired the American Drilling Co. to dtill for oil at this site on W.B. Abney's property. Early the next year, the crew struck sulphur water, which was noted for having medicinal qualities. They also found sources of salt and surface water. On several occasions, water stopped flowing at Abney's well. A new well was drilled next to the old well in 1926, and the following year Abney and his son built the Abney swimming pool. The large pool, known as Abney's Plunge, became a popular attraction for residents and visitors each year. The school district bought the property in 1937 and used the pool for many years until converting the site into a play area in 1954. (2004)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Hancock Springs Park — 1.0 mi
  Lampasas's city park on Sulphur Creek, with a spring-fed swimming pool that holds about 69 degrees all year, the walls of the old bathhouse and a golf course.
• Colorado Bend State Park — 18 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.
• Inks Lake State Park — 25 mi
  A state park on a constant-level lake of the Colorado, between Buchanan and Inks dams, with pink granite and gneiss at the water and CCC work along Park Road 4.
• Inks Dam National Fish Hatchery — 27 mi
  A free federal hatchery below Inks Dam on the Colorado, with thirty production ponds that draw birds and a look at how fish are raised from egg to harvest.

More markers nearby

• First Public School in Lampasas — steps away
• Pierian Club — 0.2 mi
• Hanna Springs — 0.3 mi
• Saint Mary's Catholic Church — 0.3 mi