Mineral Wells Stories
Back to Campus? Michael Bates’s Plan for Mineral Wells’ Old High School
The old Mineral Wells high school could have a future that brings people back to campus long after their classroom years are over.
In this story
Developer Michael Bates’s idea combines a community center in the historic school with new buildings for senior living and care—a way to give the damaged landmark a daily purpose again.
Interview update · October 16, 2026
When I spoke with Bates on October 16, he described what he hopes to preserve, how the buildings could work together, and the steps that still stand between an idea and an operating campus. He was still awaiting a contract and hoped to take possession by December. His plans are a proposal in progress, rather than a completed purchase or a restoration already underway.
“We all wanted a better outcome than teardown.”
Michael Bates, October 16, 2026 interview
An idea that began with a look at the old school
Bates credits the original idea to his husband, Ryan Flint, Duncanville ISD’s director of teaching, learning and advanced academics. A conversation about the loss of the school’s facade became a larger question: could an old campus serve people in a new stage of life?
Bates said they developed that idea while traveling from Mineral Wells toward Graham. He calls the approach bringing new and old together and inviting people to come back to campus. Through Selah Healthcare and Consulting LLC, he wants to combine older buildings worth keeping with new facilities suited to senior care.
He said work on the concept began in late February or early March. His connection to the town predates the proposal: Bates said he opened his first assisted-living facility in Mineral Wells in 2013. Asked why he wanted to keep investing his efforts here, he pointed to the town’s vision and the cooperation he has experienced from the city and county.
A community center at the heart of a senior campus
The former high school, later known as Fannin School, would do more than provide a familiar facade for a new development. Bates envisions it as a community center, with possible outreach and social-work services, space for nonprofits, and administrative offices. He described organizations operating separately while supporting a shared mission for seniors.
An event space is also part of that vision. He talked about weddings, car shows, and gatherings in the amphitheater, coordinated with the neighboring nonprofits. The appeal is partly practical: a senior campus needs places for people to spend time together. It is also personal. Former students and their families could return to a place that already belongs to their memories.
“Why not get married where great-granddad graduated?” Bates asked.
What Bates wants to preserve
Bates said his goals include preserving the facade and hallway and restoring the amphitheater. He also wants to pursue National Register recognition for the historic buildings and features across the site, including the nearby Rock Schoolhouse and the 50-Year Club building. These are preservation goals he described in the interview; he did not announce completed designations or approved preservation incentives.
For him, keeping the building useful is part of keeping it alive. The proposal is intended to connect the school, nearby organizations, and new senior-care facilities into a campus with a reason for people to return.
“It’s going to be open and used, and everybody that went there can come back there.”
Michael Bates, October 16, 2026 interview
A contract, financing, and a three-to-five-year project
There are significant steps ahead. Bates called this a three-to-five-year project. At the time of our conversation, he said he was still waiting on the contract and hoped to have possession by December 2026. That was his expectation, rather than a confirmed closing date.
The earlier public milestone was the school board’s September 14 approval of a proposed $1,000 sale, reported by Mineral Wells Area News on September 19. That report said the transaction remained subject to legal review. Bates’s October 16 interview provides a more recent account of his preparations, but does not establish that the transaction has closed.
Financing was still being assembled. Bates described roughly 70 percent of the anticipated funding as commitments made on a handshake basis. Those preliminary commitments are different from completed financing. He said limited partnerships could help with the remainder, with additional details to follow in a future press release once a contract is in place.
Bates also said he had spoken with Health and Human Services and the historical commission about the challenge of combining old and new facilities and meeting code requirements. He expects the state-level work to be one of the project’s harder parts. The interview did not establish that regulatory approvals, permits, or final designs were complete.
The building before the fire—and what my camera recorded afterward
The proposal gives a new direction to a story I have been filming for years. In my 2016 footage, the old Mineral Wells high school still had its roof. The brickwork, broad steps, and entrance belonged to a building that had helped generations of people understand where they came from.
On November 14, 2021, a fire gutted the school’s interior. I returned in 2025 to document what remained. The surviving exterior can suggest that a building is largely intact, while the view from above reveals how much was lost inside. Those photographs record that visit, not the property’s condition on the date you read this article.
My film, After the Last Bell, brings the before-and-after visits together. Bates’s proposal adds a different kind of image: a possible future. The rendering he provided belongs alongside the documentary photographs only when that distinction stays clear. It is an illustration of what could happen, rather than evidence of work already done.
A reason to come back
I cannot use a camera to put back a roof or rebuild a classroom. What I can do is preserve the earlier views and keep asking what happens next. Mineral Wells has other buildings whose next chapter has taken years to emerge, including the Baker Hotel. Each has its own finances, engineering needs, and possibilities.
For this school, the next milestones are concrete: a completed transaction, financing, approvals, and a workable preservation plan. Bates has described a future in which people return to the campus for care, company, and celebrations. Whether that vision becomes reality is the next chapter to follow.
Watch After the Last Bell
Watch the full film on Facebook. The film combines original footage from before and after the fire; the developer interview is reported in this article.
Sources and further reading
- Jonny Goodday’s recorded phone interview with Michael Bates, October 16, 2026.
- Conceptual renovation rendering provided by Michael Bates.
- Original Jonny Goodday location footage, including 2016 and 2025 views of the school.
- Mineral Wells ISD: Board resolutions, including property-sale proceedings.
- Mineral Wells Area News: September 19, 2026 report on the proposed sale.
Continue exploring
More stories from the field
Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells: History and Restoration
Explore the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells—its 1929 opening, Spanish Revival architecture, long silence, and restoration toward a planned 2028 return.
Read the story →
Mineral Wells tornado | Texas Recovery and Resilience
The Mineral Wells tornado brought EF 3 damage, but neighbors, first responders, volunteers, and community leaders came together to begin a long…
Read the story →
Boxes, Bottles, and Brick: Mineral Wells’ Box Factory Story
Mineral Wells’ Box Factory began as a 1919 Crazy Water Crystals plant, then shifted to paper box making. Explore its working history,…
Read the story →Stay close to the road
Follow the next story.
Occasional article updates, photographs, and films from the field.
Help document the places worth remembering. Support the work →
No Responses