In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a series of health spas and resorts were founded along the San Antonio River, all of which drew 104 degree, sulfurous water from the nearby Edwards Aquifer. These businesses offered therapeutic pools and baths during a time when the curative properties of mineral springs were being marketed to the sick and healthy alike.

The most famous among them spa was the Hot Wells Hotel & Spa, built in 1900. During its heyday, the extravagant two-story, 190-room resort hosted celebrities and dignitaries such as Will Rogers, Charlie Chaplin, and Teddy Roosevelt, and boasted an octagonal bathing pavilion where these esteemed guests had their choice of Turkish, Swedish or vapor baths.

Though the building was destroyed in a devastating fire in 1925, the ruins of the former Hot Wells Resort were stabilized, landscaped, and reopened as the Hot Wells of Bexar County Historical Park in 2019. Next door, the Hot Wells Interpretive Center allows visitors to learn more about the history of the site. In 2023, a bar opened adjacent to the park that allows patrons to once more soak their feet in the mineral waters of the Edwards Aquifer and book private baths.