The Gulf and Brazos Valley Railway first came into consideration as early as the mid-1880s, as Mineral Wells was desperate to access the new Texas & Pacific Railroad, which had just completed its cross-Texas mainline 10 miles to the south. Ultimately, the new line was envisioned to become part of larger railroad mainline that connected the Brazos Valley with the Gulf of Mexico to the south. The T&P, with a more immediate eagerness to reach Mineral Wells in order to offer lucrative passenger service to the famous health spas there, offered to assist the G&BV, but shortly after went into receivership; thus the surveying and grade work already completed for the new spur line was put on hold.
After a couple of brief re-starts over the ensuing years, the G&BV finally got a break — but only after Mineral Wells got their T&P access via the Weatherford, Mineral Wells & Northwestern. Progress continued on the G&BV, however; construction started at a junction with the T&P at Peck City (the town of Bennett today) and headed north to Mineral Wells. Besides the initial troubles the G&BV had getting the their line built, the WMW&NW refused to allow the new G&BV to cross their tracks in order to access Mineral Wells proper; in order to stop further progress, the WMW&NW went so far as to park their boxcars at the intended site of the grade crossing. An agreement was reached in time, and the G&BV was finally able to access their intended city. The passenger station was located in the 300 block of SE 1st Avenue (formerly SE Mesquite Street), a block north from that of the WMW&NW.
Despite the efforts and the defeated obstacles, the G&BV lasted only a few years, and was sold at a sheriff's auction in nearby Weatherford in 1902.
The right-of-way itself followed closely the nearby Rock Creek; its flood plain was flat and generally straight, offering an easy grade within the otherwise hilly Brazos Valley. The map above shows only the known, traceable portion of the former G&BV right-or-way, the rest being lost to nature...and time.