Everything Mertzon is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Mertzon.
Mertzon, a town perched high on the West Texas plains, might seem like just another dot on the map, but the dry air here has nurtured more than just hardy ranchers and tough cattle. At over two thousand feet above sea level, life here is different, and it breeds a certain kind of grit. You can see it on Friday nights when the Irion County Hornets take the field. Six-man football is king here, and the whole town rallies behind those boys.
Mertzon sits high on the Edwards Plateau, where the air is noticeably drier than down closer to the Gulf. You can feel it in your lungs, a bit more crisp. That elevation, and the railroad, really shaped this town. Back when the Texas and Pacific came through, it meant Mertzon wasn’t just another dusty crossroads; it was a place to ship goods, a place to connect to the wider world. Folks often say the stagecoach robbery, the one with the gold that’s supposedly still buried out there somewhere, is the most interesting thing about the area. But I think it's more about how Mertzon became the Irion County seat early on and how the Irion County News started here. That gave it a kind of importance, a center-of-things feeling. That feeling persists. Sure, ranching and agriculture are still the backbone, just like they always have been. And maybe some people come hoping to find that lost gold. But what keeps Mertzon going, what makes it different from the other small towns dotting the landscape, is the community. You see it in the fierce loyalty to the Irion County High School football team—six-man, of course, a real Texas tradition. It’s the kind of place where everyone knows everyone, where Friday night lights shine a little brighter, and the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl victories are practically family history.
Mertzon sits high on the land, over two thousand feet above sea level, where the air is drier and the stars at night seem a little brighter. The town owes much to the Texas and Pacific Railway. When the tracks came through, Mertzon sprang up, a place to ship wool and cattle, a place to buy supplies before heading further west. It was named for M.L. 'Mert' Hart, a pioneer who knew this land well. For a time, Mertzon even served as the county seat, the center of things for Reagan County before it moved on. You can still feel the echoes of that era in the old buildings downtown. Of course, ranching has always been the backbone of this community and remains so today. It's a hard life, but it builds character. And speaking of character, there's a story about a stagecoach robbery out near town, a load of gold that vanished and was never found. Whether it's true or not, it's a good reminder of the wilder days. You can see it in the faces at Irion County High School games, cheering on the six-man football team. And you can still find copies of the Irion County News, a paper that's been telling Mertzon's story for generations.
[front] On January 8, 1865 eight miles east of here Confederate troops and Texas militiamen engaged a large party of Kickapoo Indians. The Indians, formerly hostile to the South, had entered Texas without authority and were making their way to Mexico. Troops attacked them and following five hours of desperate fighting, withdrew, having suffered the loss of 22 killed and 19 wounded. Indian losses from the encounter were probably less. Later raids by the Kickapoos were traced to the Dove Creek fight. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963 [back] TEXAS CIVIL WAR INDIAN TROUBLE War brought turmoil to Indians living in Kansas and the Indian Territory, with unfortunate results for Texans on the frontier. Most Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles aided the South, while others adhered to the North. The Comanches made a treaty with the South but a great majority, with their allies the Kiowas, held aloof from either side, and plundered the frontier at will. Apaches and the Kickapoos did the same from Mexico. Texas and Confederate troops, despite poor arms and mounts, held defense lines until war's end.
(Built 1900-1901) First permanent courthouse for Irion County, locally organized 1889. Replaced temporary housing in several buildings. Site was gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ripley. Contractors: Martin and Moody. Stone was quarried nearby. Courthouse was used for dances, teachers' institutes, community events; yard, for summer socials. Enclosed to keep out grazing stock, approach was by a stile over fence beside which were water troughs and hitching posts for teams and saddle horses. A 1936 election made Mertzon county seat. Once pride of area, this is now a community center. (1971)
Created March 7, 1889. Organized April 16, 1889. Named in honor of Robert Anderson Irion, 1806-1860. Came to Texas in 1833 and located at Nacogdoches. Member of the first Texas Congress. Secretary of State in the cabinet of President Houston, 1837-1838. Sherwood, the county seat.
Camp Charlotte was a Civil War-era military installation located on the Middle Concho River below its confluence with Kiowa Creek in northwestern Irion County. It was established in April 1858. The site was forty-five miles west of San Angelo at the intersection of the Butterfield Overland and El Paso mail routes. The purpose of the camp was the usual one for frontier posts-protecting against Indian depredations, especially those against the overland mail. A stockade measuring 115 by 190 feet encompassed some facilities, but the officers' quarters and guardhouse were built outside the compound. A small settlement grew up around the stage station near the fort. By the middle 1870s the post had only infantry troops, who found it difficult to police the area against Indian raids. William Garrison established a post office in the settlement in 1885, when what later became Irion County was still a part of Tom Green County. The office served the area until it was discontinued and moved to San Angelo in 1899. The site of the camp is in an isolated area of northwest Irion County west of State Highway 163. Little of the camp remained there by the 1970s except some foundations and a historical marker.
Christoval, also known as Delong and South Concho, is on Loop 110, U.S. Highway 277, Farm Road 2084, and the South Concho River, twenty miles south of San Angelo in southern Tom Green County. It is supposedly named, in Spanish, for Christopher Columbus Doty , an early settler. A Christoval post office was established in 1889, and by 1901 the local school had forty-six pupils and one teacher. In 1914 Christoval had a population of 200, two general stores, and a newspaper, the Christoval Observer. The Panhandle and Santa Fe Railway ran through town. From that decade through the 1930s 10,000 persons attended the Baptist encampment on the South Concho annually, and mineral waters in Christoval attracted visitors and settlers. In the 1930s the community had a population high of 544 and twenty businesses. State highway maps in 1936 showed two churches, multiple businesses, and scattered dwellings at the townsite. The population dropped to 400 by 1953 and to 216 by 1973. Businesses decreased from eighteen to four, despite the development of the local mohair industry. The population remained at 216 from 1973 to 1990, when the community had three churches, a school, and three business establishments; residents expected further decline resulting from a 1987 rerouting of U.S. Highway 277 to bypass the town. In 2000, however, the population was 422, with twenty-nine businesses. The forests of the town's Pugh Park, in which Mount Susan is located, reflect the original features of the area.
16 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Mertzon, a town perched high on the West Texas plains, might seem like just another dot on the map, but the dry air here has nurtured more than just hardy ranchers and tough cattle. At over two thousand feet above sea…
[front] On January 8, 1865 eight miles east of here Confederate troops and Texas militiamen engaged a large party of Kickapoo Indians. The Indians, formerly hostile to the South, had entered Texas without authority and…
You're rolling through Mertzon, the county seat of Irion County. This town owes its very existence to the railroad. It was established as a post office back in 1908, named for a banker who was also a director of the…
Created March 7, 1889. Organized April 16, 1889. Named in honor of Robert Anderson Irion, 1806-1860. Came to Texas in 1833 and located at Nacogdoches. Member of the first Texas Congress. Secretary of State in the…
(Built 1900-1901) First permanent courthouse for Irion County, locally organized 1889. Replaced temporary housing in several buildings. Site was gift of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Ripley. Contractors: Martin and Moody. Stone…
You're driving through the Dove Creek Battlefield area, site of a fierce clash on January 8, 1865. Two thousand Native Americans fought against Texas Rangers and State Troops. Four officers and 22 men who fell here lie…
You're driving through Irion County, a place with a history etched in conflict. Back on January 8, 1865, right here at the junction of Spring and Dove creeks, a fierce battle erupted. Over fourteen hundred Kickapoo…
Camp Charlotte was a Civil War-era military installation located on the Middle Concho River below its confluence with Kiowa Creek in northwestern Irion County. It was established in April 1858. The site was forty-five…
Knickerbocker, Texas, out there on the Edwards Plateau, is a place that breathes quiet. The Middle Concho River cuts through the limestone, and the air’s dry, up there at nearly 2,500 feet. It's ranch country, mostly…
You're cruising through Knickerbocker, a town that started with a bang in the 1870s. Farmers and ranchers were drawn to the fertile land along Dove Creek. The Baze brothers kicked things off in 1875, digging an…
You're driving through Knickerbocker, where education has been a priority for over a century. As early as 1877, children rode horseback to the Baze Subscription School, a one-room adobe building that operated for over…
You're driving through what used to be the Arden community, named for sheep raiser John Arden who arrived back in 1876. After 1900, homesteaders moved in, and by 1903, Joe Funk donated land for a school and cemetery…
Christoval’s a small town, a real getaway, but it holds a bigger story than you might think. This place, settled back in 1883 and named for Saint Christopher, started as a trading post right here on the Concho River.…
You're driving past the site of the Christoval Baptist Church. Organized in 1889 as the South Concho Baptist congregation, the church met in a shared Union Church building before constructing its own octagonal…
Christoval (Christoval, TX) placed on the 2A Texas high school baseball stat leaderboards for the 2026 season: Ryler Hunt (2 HR).
Christoval, also known as Delong and South Concho, is on Loop 110, U.S. Highway 277, Farm Road 2084, and the South Concho River, twenty miles south of San Angelo in southern Tom Green County. It is supposedly named, in…