Earlier this week, I got a sneak peek at the new location of local/my favorite restaurant, Christina's American Table, which will be on the first floor of the recently-restored historic Nutt House Hotel. In the men's room, there is a window in the floor with a view of an old well (see the photo below).
Above: View through a window in the floor of the men's room of the old well underneath the Nutt House Hotel and Christina's American Table.
Below: A wider view of the men's room and the "window to the well."
Apparently, one of the stone pier-and-beam supports when this stone building was constructed (sometime between March 1893 and July 1898) was placed right over the old well opening, and the well was rediscovered in the recent renovation. So of course I immediately wondered if the well showed up in any old Sanborn fire insurance maps.
Well, it is not specifically marked on any of the available maps. However, I have a guess on where it was located. First, look at this map from July 1898. The building is on the northwest corner of the intersection of Bridge and Crockett. It first appears, in its present stone (indicated by the blue coloring) form, on the July 1898 Sanborn map. Note the location of the wooden posts down the middle of the building (where the red arrow is pointing - click on the image of the map to enlarge it). They are still there, and this well is to the west (left on the map) of them.
Above: excerpt of the July 1898 Sanborn fire insurance map for the building that is now the Nutt House Hotel and Christina's American Table in Granbury, Texas - https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/g-i/txu-sanborn-granbury-1898-2.jpg
Below: excerpt of the March 1893 Sanborn fire insurance map for the site of the building that is now the Nutt House Hotel and Christina's American Table in Granbury, Texas - https://maps.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/g-i/txu-sanborn-granbury-1893-1.jpg
The building in present form (see the photo below) was constructed sometime between March 1893 (based on the Sanborn map above) and July 1898. Its predecessor was two wood frame (indicated by the yellow coloring) buildings. Note that the one on the left does not extend as deeply into the lot as the one on the right. Although no well is indicated on this map, the well could have been constructed after March 1893, and then the stone building of today built over it.
Above: Nutt House Hotel on March 2, 2023, after the March 1, 2023 fire that nearly destroyed it when its restoration was nearly complete.
Below: Nutt House Hotel on October 24, 2024, about to reopen, with Christina's American Table on the first floor.
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