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Concho County, Texas

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Contents

Formed From

  • 1858--Concho County was created 1 February 1858 from Bexar County. The county was not organized until 1879.

History/Timeline

Painted Rock pictographs.

Concho County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 4,087. Its county seat is Paint Rock.

10,000 to 8,000 B.C. In this county 2 sites of Indian activity in Concho County that have drawn the most attention lie along the bluffs of the Concho and Colorado rivers. There the most noted are pictographs a mile W Paint Rock, above the Concho, are found some of the outstanding Indian pictographs in Texas. Near O.H. Ivie Reservoir Intensive archaeological documentations E of Paint Rock on the Colorado. The diet of the groups camping here may have yucca, prickly pear, mesquite beans, pecans, and grass seeds, as well as fish, mussels, prairie chickens, and wild turkeys. [1]
Farthest point north that ring middens and burned-rock middens had been found.
Pictographs.
1776 places the area of Concho County within the domain of the Lipans, S of Colorado River. Territory above the Colorado belonged to the Comanches, and that E of the Colorado to the Tonkawas.[1]
1800s, Paleo-Indians lived in the county and left behind archaeological remains of a burned-rock midden. Athabascan-speaking Indians associated with the prehorse Plains culture live in this part of Texas. Later native inhabitants include Jumano, Tonkawa, Comanche and Lipan Apache.[2]
1840 the Comanches overran the area of Concho County.[1]
1845 Adelsverein (the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas) had secured complete rights to the Fisher-Miller contract. [1][1]
1847 John O. Meusebach sent surveyors into the area.
1849 Robert Simpson Neighbors lead a small expedition through the area.[2]
late 1850s the Lipan Apaches reestablished control over the Concho valley, though Comanches continued to raid along the river 1860s and 1870s. [1]
1858 The Texas Legislature formed Concho County from Bexar County in 1858, named for the Concho River.[2]
1863 - John Chisum first large scale cattleman set up string of cow camps in NE part of county.[1]
1874 Ranald S. Mackenzie led a campaign to drive out remaining native peoples and established the Mackenzie Trail. The county seat was formally established and named Paint Rock after the nearby pictographs. The Eden community was established in 1882. In 1909, the community of Lowake community was established.[2][1]
1879 -Concho County was organized in 1879, after the required petition was signed by 75 voters. The site to vote was near Mullins Crossing. Location chosen was Paint Rock.[1]
1879 Originally, the town was begun1/2 mile W of the present location, but the mistake was found and the first buildings relocated to the present site. Paint Rock name comes from the numerous ancient pictographs along rock walls of the Concho River. Post office opened .[3]
1880s,Paint Rock had a population around 100 and had developed into a pecan, sheep and wool shipping point.[3]
1881-1892 - A Presbyterian church was organized in 1881, then a Baptist church in 1886. They and late-arriving (1892) Methodists shared a Union Church building until they eventually each built their own.[3]
1882 - Eden, on Hardin Branch in the S central region of the county, established. By 1931, when Paint Rock had reached its peak population of 1,000, Eden had surpassed it with 1,194. [1]
1880s-1890s U-Bar and OH Ranch, or Concho Cattle Company, which first ran cattle about 1878, and the Davies and Holland Ranch. Cattle drives shifted from the Chisholm and Shawnee trails to the Western Trail (started in South Texas thru Concho, crossing Colorado River near Eden. Goodnight-Loving trail branched off Western Trail, toward New Mexico.[1]
1886 a permanent courthouse was constructed.
1909 and 1922 The first of two destructive fires occurred (1909), (2nd fire in 1922). This partially accounts for the incomplete courthouse square today.[3]
1910 -Railroads arrived: the Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley railroad completed to Paint Rock. The Fort Worth & Rio Grande Railway completed across the SE corner of the county in 1911, and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe railroad line to Eden in 1912. Concho had its own water system.[2][3]
1930 the area had 449 owner-operated farms and 682 tenant operated farms, of whom 619 were sharecroppers.[2]
1931- Despite the fires, Paint Rock reached it’s apex with around 1,000 residents by 1933. The 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 2000 census reported 320 people, making it one of Texas’ least populated county seats. [3]
1940 Texas counties including Concho co. part of Soil Conservation District.
mid 1880s, Paint Rock had a population around 100 and had developed into a pecan, sheep and wool shipping point.[3]
1985 - the Texas Water Commission granted permission to impound 554,000 acre feet (683,000,000 m3) of water on the Colorado River at Stacy, to create the O. H. Ivie Reservoir.[2]
1988 Concho County was the leading sheep-producing county in Texas.[2]


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County,_Texas


https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21

Government Offices

1st courthouse - First permanent courthouse for Concho County, built in 1886, replacing the earlier crude structure. Architects were the brothers F.E. and Oscar Ruffini, who also planned and constructed first main building at the University of Texas. As F.E. Ruffini lived only long enough to draw plans for this courthouse, his brother completed it. Architecture is "French Second Empire". Use of rusticated stone -- which came from a quarry only a few miles away -- is unusual in this style.Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962 [4]

1886 Concho co. courthouse
staircase
According to According to the Texas Historical Commission Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm The plans had been used in other courthouses, but they do not look like this courthouse.  ?Myth?

Geography

Area of 994 square miles (2,570 km2), of which 984 square miles (2,550 km2) is land and 9.9 square miles (26 km2) (1.0%) is water

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21

Concho County, in Central Texas, straddles the northern edge of Edwards Plateau.
Named for Concho (or "Shell") River, which was named for the large number of mussels found there.
Center of the county 31°20' north latitude and 99°52' west longitude.
County Seat: Paint Rock in N central part, 30 Miles E of San Angelo and 150 miles NW of Austin. :Size - 992 square miles
Elevation of 1,600 to 2,100 feet above sea level.
Terrain - rolling in N, with steep slopes and benches, land in S on the Edwards Plateau is flat and broken by numerous deep creekbeds.
Soil - 2 types - thin and stony soil of the Edwards Plateau supports oak, juniper, and mesquite, :: clay loams in the north sustain grasses, oak, juniper, mesquite in NW; Mesquite in N Central Rivers - Concho River,flows E to W across N part county and Colorado River, NE county line.
Major creeks: Dry Hollow, Kickapoo, Duck, Mustang, Brady, and South Brady.
Vegetation - Creekbeds originally had elm, live oak, post oak trees.
Prime farmland -11 to 20 percent is considered to be prime farmland.
Temperatures low of 33° F in January to 97° in July.
Rainfall - 23 inches; snowfall, three inches
Growing season 228 days per year.
Climate is mild and dry.
Natural resources include oil and gas, limestone, caliche, dolomite, and bituminous coal. In 1982, 218,748 barrels of oil and 1,982,444 thousand cubic feet of gas-well gas were produced in the county.

https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21

Demographics

In 2000, there were 3,966 people living in the county with a population density of 4 people/sq. mi. . The racial makeup of the county was 88.20% White, 0.98% Black or African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.10% Pacific Islander, 8.93% from other races, and 1.24% from two or more races. About 41.33% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. The median income for a household in the county was $31,313, and for a family was $36,894. Males had a median income of $20,750 versus $21,458 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,727. About 7.50% of families and 11.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.[5]

.
  • Concho County has the highest gender ratio in the United States : {{Blue|232 men to every 100 women}}[6]
  • Ethnic groups - pockets of Germans in the NW corner, a cluster of Swedes near the Concho-McCulloch county line, over 100 Czechs resided near Eola, in the far W central part of the county.
.

Highways:

  • U.S. Highway 83
  • U.S. Highway 87
  • Texas State Highway 153
  • Texas State Highway 20

Adjacent Counties

  • Runnels County (north)
  • Coleman County (northeast)
  • McCulloch County (east)
  • Menard County (south)
  • Tom Green County (west)

Local Resources

Protected areas

CitiesTowns


Festivals

  • Paint Rock Excursions: An estimated 1,500 Indian pictographs were painted by Comanche Indian tribes just North of the Concho River, on Paint Rock Ranch. Tours by appointment. Paint Rock. (325)732-4376.
  • Don Freeman Memorial Museum: County history museum that interprets Concho County’s development from Native American days and agricultural pursuits to pioneer families and county’s military veterans. Eden. Open Saturday and Sunday only. (325)869-8803.
  • Barrow Museum: The Earnest and Dorthy Barrow Foundation Museum is located East of Eola, on FM 765, Open Friday - Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 1p.m. - 5 p.m. CLOSED HOLIDAYS - P. O. Box 607, Eola, TX 76937 - (325) 469-3361
  • Garden of Eden: Nature garden with water features and beautiful native plants. Walking paths, picnic table, benches, lighted after dark. 325-869-2211
Schools
Rockin Schoolhouse


Public Schools

Historic Census

1880 ---- 800 —
1890 ---- 1,065 33.1%
1900 ---- 1,427 34.0%
1910 ---- 6,654 366.3%
1920 ---- 5,847 −12.1%
1930 ---- 7,645 30.8%
1940 ----- 6,192 −19.0%
1950 ---- 5,078 −18.0%
1960 ---- 3,672 −27.7%
1970 ---- 2,937 −20.0%
1980 ---- 2,915 −0.7%
1990 ---- 3,044 4.4%
2000 ---- 3,966 30.3%
2010 ---- 4,087 3.1%
Est. 2015 ---- 4,081

Notables

County Resources

Cemeteries



Sources

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcc21
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County,_Texas
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/PaintRockTexas.htm
  4. ↑ http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPanhandleTowns/Paint-Rock-Texas-Concho-County-Courthouse.htm
  5. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County,_Texas
  6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County,_Texas




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