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| History
on a Painted Cliff Originally,
the town was begun a half mile west of the present location, but the mistake was
found and the first buildings relocated to the present site. The year was 1879
and the name comes from the numerous ancient pictographs
along the rock walls of the Concho River. The same year (1879) saw the opening
of the post office.
In the mid 1880s, Paint Rock had a population around
100 and had developed into a pecan, sheep and wool shipping point.
A Presbyterian
church was organized in 1881, followed by a Baptist church in 1886. They and they
late-arriving (1892) Methodists shared a Union Churchbuilding until they eventually
each built their own.
The first of two destructive fires occurred in 1909
(the second in 1922). This partially accounts for the incomplete courthouse square
today.
It wasn’t until 1910 that the railroad arrived and by 1914, the
community had its own water system and newspaper.
Despite the fires, Paint
Rock reached it’s apex in 1931 with around 1,000 residents. Two years later, as
the effects of the Great Depression were felt, and the population declined by
half. Then, as if life wasn’t hard enough, the railroad bridge was washed out
in 1936 and the town was left without a rail connection. It
returned to 800 in the early 1940s and remained there more or less through the
1950s. In 1972 it had plunged again – this time reaching a low point of just 193
residents.
The 200 census reported 320 people, making it one of Texas’
least populated county seats. (See Ten
County Seats You're Not Likely to Visit) |
Paint
Rock Texas Landmarks/Attractions |
|
A small cluster of buildings surround a tidy courthouse
that reassures Paint Rockers that they are the County Seat, not the Colossus of
Eden. |
Concho County Precinct Building
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2006 |
Paint Rock Pictographs
on the Campbell RanchPictographs
can be visited by car or tours can be arranged (325-732-4376). |
Paint
Rock pictographs on the Campbell Ranch
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, January 2010 |
Paint
Rock pictographs on the Campbell Ranch
Photo courtesy Steven M. Aycock, DDS, 2011 |
Paint
Rock pictographs on the Campbell Ranch
Photo courtesy Steven M. Aycock, DDS, 2011 |
Paint
Rock pictographs on the Campbell Ranch
Photo courtesy Steven M. Aycock, DDS, 2011 |
Paint
Rock pictographs on the Campbell Ranch
Photo courtesy Steven M. Aycock, DDS, 2011 |
Paint
Rock Chronicles:Paint
Rock: The Last Comanche Fight of Jack Hays
by Jeffery Robenalt
Some historians have questioned the Rangers' victory at
Paint Rock as pure fiction or an attempt to revise history, however, Jack Hays
and the Texas Rangers need no help from me or any other historian to bring glory
and honor to their name. Who
Killed Oliver Thornton?
by C. F. Eckhardt
Oliver Thornton is no more than a footnote in the history
of Western outlawry—a man who wouldn’t be more than a name on a tombstone had
he not chanced to get himself murdered... more |
Concho
County Vintage Photos | |
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