The Lost Waters of Comanche Springs RoadyGoat

The park around Comanche Springs looks peaceful today, but it’s the scene of one of Texas’s great environmental tragedies. For millennia, these springs gushed over 20 million gallons of water a day, the lifeblood of the desert. They were the reason the fort and the town were built here. But in the 1950s, large-scale agricultural wells were drilled for irrigation on farms many miles away, tapping into the same underground aquifer that fed the springs. The massive pumping lowered the water pressure in the aquifer, and one by one, the majestic springs sputtered and died. The last natural flow was in 1961. The town sued, but the Texas Supreme Court upheld the 'rule of capture,' which meant landowners could pump as much water as they wanted from beneath their land. The swimming pool here now is filled with well water—a manufactured reminder of the powerful, natural oasis that was lost.

RoadyGoat →

The Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Stockton RoadyGoat

The very ground of the old fort here tells a powerful story of courage and resilience. From 1867 to 1886, Fort Stockton was a major post for the U.S. Army's African American regiments—the 9th and 10th Cavalry and 24th and 25th Infantry. Known as the Buffalo Soldiers, these men, many of them former slaves, served on the front lines of the American West. Here in Fort Stockton, their mission was to guard the mail, protect travelers on the San Antonio-El Paso road, and map the harsh, unforgiving territory. They faced difficult conditions, isolation, and prejudice, yet they served with distinction. The restored barracks and officers' quarters you can still see at the historic site were their home. When you pass by, imagine these soldiers patrolling the desert, their presence making settlement and communication in West Texas possible. They are a vital, often overlooked, part of the American story.

RoadyGoat →

The Engineering of a Lost Oasis RoadyGoat

The story of Comanche Springs is a dramatic lesson in hydrology. The springs were artesian, meaning their water was under pressure. Rain and snowmelt in the Davis and Glass Mountains, over 50 miles away, would seep into the ground, filling a vast limestone aquifer called the Edwards-Trinity. This water traveled slowly underground for decades, confined between impermeable layers of rock. When it reached a fault line here in Fort Stockton, the pressure forced it to the surface, creating the legendary springs. But in the 1950s, a massive engineering project began miles away: the drilling of hundreds of high-capacity irrigation wells into that same aquifer. These wells became artificial outlets, releasing the aquifer's pressure. The water table, or potentiometric surface, dropped below the opening of the springs. It wasn't that the water disappeared; human engineering simply gave it an easier place to go, silencing a geological wonder that had flowed for thousands of years.

RoadyGoat →

Comanche Springs

1849

Comanche Springs was in the southeastern part of the town of Fort Stockton in central Pecos County. The springs, the source of Comanche Creek, flowed from a fault in Comanchean limestone. In 1849 a reconnaissance party organized by United States Army captain William Henry Chase Whiting reached Comanche Springs. Whiting called the springs Awache, Comanche for "white [or wide] water," and described the water as being clear and abundant in fish and soft-shell turtles. José Policarpo Rodríguez , interpreter for the Whiting party, later said he gave the name Comanche to the springs. John C. Reid described Comanche Springs in 1856, saying the water came from the earth "like a sea monster." Reid said Comanche Springs received its name when a Comanche, covered in a wolf's hide, was killed while attempting to attack a party of travelers at the springs. United States Army lieutenant S. G. French noted in 1849 that Comanche Springs was an Indian campground on the Comanche Trail to Mexico. French said large wagontrains of immigrants traveling from Fredericksburg to Presidio passed by Comanche Springs. Camp Stockton, later Fort Stockton, a United States Army post, was established at Comanche Springs on March 23, 1859, to provide protection to travelers and mail service from raiding Indians. The springs supplied water for the camp. Comanche Springs was an important of irrigation water in Pecos County after 1875. In 1899 the spring flow was 1,900 liters a second. Heavy pumping from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer caused the flow of Comanche Springs to decline after 1947. A county bathhouse, swimming pool, and pavilion were constructed at Comanche Springs in 1938. By March 1961 the springs had ceased flowing. The rare and endangered Comanche Springs pupfish lived there until the springs dried up.

Tsha Handbook →

Royal, Andrew Jackson

1889

A. J. Royal, Pecos County sheriff, son of Ethel Joseph and Mary Frances (Ousley) Royal, was born in Lee County, Alabama, on November 25, 1855, the only son in a family of five daughters. He left the family farm and moved as a young man to Fort Worth, Texas, where he worked for the railroad. He married Naomi Obedience Christmus on January 19, 1879, in Coryell County, and the couple moved to Junction, where Royal operated a saloon and a ranch. Reportedly, he was indicted for murder there. In 1889 he took his family to Pecos County, where he farmed. The Royals had six daughters and one son. In Pecos County Royal quarreled with one of his employees and killed the man on the street in Fort Stockton. In 1892 he was elected sheriff of Pecos County. While sheriff, he won the Koehler Saloon in a card game, but the owner died before signing it over. On August 6, 1894, Royal had a shoot-out with James Rooney in the saloon. As sheriff, Royal was a controversial figure. Some citizens thought he used his power to terrorize those who disagreed with him, especially several prominent people. Others considered him a tough lawman who fought hard to establish law and order. During the campaign for reelection he reportedly allowed a Mexican-American prisoner to escape in exchange for being allowed to make a campaign speech to Hispanic voters. He was subsequently arrested by the United States marshal for letting a federal prisoner escape. Royal was defeated in the election. On November 21, 1894, he was murdered in his office at the courthouse by an unknown assailant. Tradition in Pecos County states that nine leading citizens met together and agreed that Royal should be killed. No one was ever charged with the crime.

Tsha Handbook →

Oil and Gas Industry in Pecos County

1900

Located in the petroleum-rich Permian Basin, Pecos is one of the most prolific oil- and gas-producing counties in Texas. The petroleum business here began about 1900 with the drilling of the Turney well near an ancient "seep", a traditional local source of oil for lubricating and medicinal purposes. A short-lived boom in 1921 caused by the discovery of the "Miracle Well" heralded the arrival of the fabulous Yates oil field (1926), indicating the area's great potential oil wealth. Since that year over 710 million barrels of oil have been produced from the Yates, Fort Stockton and other county fields. The presence of natural gas, known for years, was slow to be exploited because gas was considered an undesirable by-product of the oil business. The first commercial use of gas here was inspired after it was found by workers drilling a water well, in 1925. The discovery, about 1948, of Santa Rosa field spurred exploration that brought in the Puckett field in 1952. Subsequent deep drilling tapped many extensive pools, including in 1963 the prolific Gomez Field, which had produced over 478 billion cubic feet of gas as of 1970. Today petroleum is the single most important economic asset of Pecos County.

Historical Marker →

Comanches Springs

1536

Used as a watering place and camping ground by Indians since Pre-Columbian times, the Springs were possibly visited about 1536 by Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca on his wanderings through Texas. The expedition of Juan de Mendoza, with his party of Spaniards and Jumano Indians, camped near the waters in 1684. The six major, gushing springs and the beautiful river they formed resulted from water seeping up through geological faults to the earth's surface. The reservoir which supplied them was located in the formation known as "Trinity Sand." The Springs, among the largest in all Texas, were one of the few good watering places in this arid region. They supplied Indians raiding into Mexico on the nearby Comanche war trail and also gold seekers traveling to California on the southern route, 1849 and later. Butterfield Overland Mail stage stopped here as well, and after 1859 the Springs provided water for Fort Stockton, which was founded both to protect the mail and stop the Comanche raids. The Springs began to be tapped for irrigation as early as 1875, but today irrigation projects to the north and west have reduced the underground water supply so much that the Springs no longer flow.

Historical Marker →

Fort Stockton

1859

Fort Stockton, constructed of adobe and named for Lt. Edward Dorsey Stockton, an officer in the First Infantry who had died in San Antonio in 1857, was established by the United States Army on January 17, 1859, at Comanche Springs, which was within the site of the present city of Fort Stockton, for the protection of the mail service, travelers, and freighters. Comanche Springs was on the Comanche war trail into Mexico, the upper and lower San Antonio-El Paso-San Diego roads, the Butterfield Overland Mail route, and the San Antonio-Chihuahua Trail, and near the Pecos River-New Mexico road. Capt. Arthur T. Lee , commanding Company C, Eighth Infantry, on order of Col. Carlos A. Waite , who commanded all federal troops in Texas, abandoned the post in April 1861. On June 26 the post was reoccupied by Capt. Charles L. Pyron , in command of Company B, Second Regiment, Texas Mounted Rifles. It was abandoned by the Confederates in August 1862, after Gen. Henry H. Sibley 's defeat in New Mexico. On July 21, 1867, Fort Stockton, in ruins after the Civil War , was reoccupied by Gen. Edward Hatch, who made it the headquarters for the Ninth United States Cavalry , a regiment of black troops. Hatch built a new post nearby at a cost of $82,000 on land the federal government neither owned nor had leased. Except for the stone guardhouse, the buildings had stone foundations, adobe walls, and dirt roofs. The troops quartered at the post were used for patrols, escorts, and scouts, largely against the Apaches. In 1882, after the Apaches had been defeated, the army began withdrawing the troops. The last contingent, a company of the Third Cavalry and two companies of the Sixteenth Infantry, commanded by Maj. George A. Purington, left on June 26–27, 1886. By providing protection to travelers and settlers, a market for stockmen, irrigation farmers, and merchants, and employment for freighters, mechanics, and laborers, Fort Stockton promoted the establishment and development of a thriving community. Since their abandonment by the military, some of the officers' quarters have been used continuously for residences. In 1936 the state erected a marker at the site of the fort on the grounds of the Pecos County Courthouse .

Tsha Handbook →

Fort Cemetery, Old

1859

Burial ground for soldiers stationed at Fort Stockton and for civilians in the little town that grew up around the post. The fort was established 1859; temporarily closed 1861-1867. Troops here protected the San Antonio-San Diego mail line and quelled Indian raids into Mexico on the infamous Comanche Trail. This cemetery testifies to the hardships of frontier life: no headstone was erected for a person over 40. In 1888 (after the fort was permanently closed in 1886), remains of the 56 soldiers buried here were moved to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Historical Marker →

Fort Stockton, Texas

Music in Fort Stockton

Songs About Fort Stockton

Artists From Fort Stockton

Rivers & Roads in Song near Fort Stockton

History of Fort Stockton

The Lost Waters of Comanche Springs RoadyGoat

The Buffalo Soldiers of Fort Stockton RoadyGoat

The Engineering of a Lost Oasis RoadyGoat

Comanche Springs

Royal, Andrew Jackson

Oil and Gas Industry in Pecos County

Comanches Springs

Fort Stockton

Fort Cemetery, Old

Things to Do in Fort Stockton

Everything Near Fort Stockton