For people who want to explore the place where the creative spirit and the individual soul meet, the historic Double J Hacienda & Art Ranch is a unique Texas outpost that promotes creative endeavors and holistic well being.  Our intention is to provide a supportive atmosphere in an  inspirational environment that rejuvenates awareness in order to enjoy life to the fullest.

“When I first set foot on the Double J, I knew I was in for an experience.  What I did not know is how Jimmy’s, Jane’s, and Ruby’s spirit would facilitate my own healing.  This is one of the most wonderful, energetic, and healthy sanctuaries of all the places I’ve been.”

                                                                        Tom Kemper, President

                                                                        Dolphin Blue

Jane Baldwin, M.A., RYT 500, is a Priya trained Yoga Therapist, writer, and anthropologist.  She writes a column called Jungle Jane Explains for two children’s magazines, including North Texas Kids.  Jane recently completed a children’s book about the adoption of Ruby, her daughter with Jimmy.  The name Jungle Jane comes from her previous career as an archaeologist in Colorado, New Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize.

Jimmy Baldwin is an Americana Top 40 singer-songwriter and creative director at the Richard’s Group in Dallas, Texas.  His award-winning commercials for Motel 6 and Corona Beer earned him recognition in the world of advertising.  With the recent release of his second independent music recording, The Cowboy and the Mermaid, Jimmy continues to hone his craft of visual storytelling through music.  jimmybmusic.com,

Jimmy and Jane discovered the Seybold Guest Ranch when it became a location for a music video for My Lone Star, a single off Jimmy’s first album.

   

The Double J Hacienda & Art Ranch was built in the early 1940’s as The Seybold Guest Ranch.  Elmer Seybold was given a blank check by his oil man father, the story goes, to find the land upon which to build his dream home.  “I found the prettiest spot in one of the most beautiful counties in Texas,” he would boast to visitors.  Elmer, a nationally known sharp shooter and horseman and his wife Dorothee, an international fashion model, hosted  many distinguished guests including celebrities such as John Wayne, Bette Davis, and President and Nancy Reagan.

Elmer Seybold was well known and well respected for many talents which  would have been commonplace one hundred years earlier.  He was a master blacksmith, gunsmith and horseman -- making his own knives, whips, guns, saddles, and horseshoes.  In 1952 he founded the North Texas Farrier School which he ran at the Seybold Guest Ranch until his retirement at age 82 in 1995.

The land along the Brazos River has a history rich with legendary stories of nomadic Comanche, tenacious cattle-driving cowboys and healing mineral waters.  Quanah Parker, the last Comanche chief, roamed these hill as legendary cowboys Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving blazed the Goodnight-Loving Trail transporting cattle from South Texas to New Mexico.

Mineral Wells was founded in the late 19th century by a judge who drilled a water well and found that the water within it cured his rheumatism.  One of the many wells that had been dug cured a woman of her crazy fits and thereafter became known as the Crazy Well.  The town thrived for many decades as a health resort center.

By the early 20th century  400 wells operated, many of them as part of health spas and bathhouses.  At that time  Mineral Wells was known as, “the South’s greatest health resort.”  The golden age of Mineral Wells as a healing center ended in 1930’s.  With the Great Depression and the FDA’s tightening regulations on natural healing therapies, Mineral Wells almost lost a significant facet of its infrastructure. 

As the popularity of natural healing therapies and health consciousness increases so does interest in the rich history of the healing waters.  The Famous Mineral Water Co, established in 1904, is the only remaining namesake of the town.  Famous Water, bottled at the source in Mineral Wells, can be purchased at Whole Foods Groceries across Texas.