Snyder Sanitarium, 205 SW Barnard Street

The two-story, U-shaped, Craftsman-style Snyder Sanitarium building was the centerpiece of efforts by healer George Paul Snyder, Sr., to meet the needs of health seekers who sought cures from the mineral waters that flowed to the surface at Glen Rose. Arriving from California in 1915, Snyder, who was not a physician, provided treatments that inexpensively emphasized mineral water, massage, and the use of special electrical devices. Patients related that the healer had an uncanny ability to read their minds, diagnosing their physical ailments and helping resolve their personal problems. He developed a loyal following. One local person commented at the time that Snyder “made a million dollars off of two-dollar treatments.” In 1919 he constructed this sanitarium, which included a separate dining room, outdoor gardens with banana trees and other exotic plants, and even a menagerie with animals to entertain his clients. Snyder, his widow, and others continued to operate the medical facility into the 1970s, after which time its major building was adapted to become a bed-and-breakfast inn.