Ozona, TX RoadyGoat
A significant and tragic event in Ozona's history was the flood of 1954, which resulted in the loss of 16 lives and the destruction of about half of the homes in the town.
Everything Ozona is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Ozona.
A significant and tragic event in Ozona's history was the flood of 1954, which resulted in the loss of 16 lives and the destruction of about half of the homes in the town.
Ozona, Texas, has a history marked by both growth and tragedy. Founded in 1891 as 'Powell Well' after land surveyor E. M. Powell, it was renamed 'Ozona' in 1897 due to the high quantity of open air or 'ozone'. A devastating flood in 1954 killed 16 people and destroyed about half of the homes in the town, a significant event in its history.
Ozona's story is etched in the land, and it's a story of resilience, tied directly to the sheep and goats that roam these hills. Ranching, particularly raising Angora goats for their mohair, took root early, transforming this part of Crockett County. The open range, the sparse but hardy grasses, and the clear, dry air—all of it combined to create an ideal environment for these animals. While cattle ranching has always been a presence, it was mohair that truly put Ozona on the map. The industry wasn't just about the land, though. It was about the people, too. Generations of families learned the rhythms of ranch life, the skills of shearing, and the delicate balance of managing herds in a challenging environment. That heritage is still alive here. You see it in the weathered faces of the ranchers, in the annual Crockett County Stock Show, and in the quiet pride people take in their work. While the oil industry has certainly played a role in the modern economy, it's the legacy of ranching, particularly the mohair industry, that continues to define Ozona's character and connect it to its past.
Was born in Tennessee on August 17, 1786 Participated in the Creek Indian Campaign 1813-1814 Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives 1821-1823. United States Congressman from Tennessee 1827-1831 and 1833-1835 Arrived in Texas in January 1836 Died a hero at the Alamo March the Sixth 1836. .. Be sure you are right - then go ahead ..
Charles E. Davidson, lawyer, rancher, and county judge, was born on July 10, 1856, in Nicholas County, Kentucky, and spent his childhood on a farm in Iowa. After attending Cornell University and the University of Iowa, he received his law degree in 1882 from the Hastings School of Law, San Francisco, and went to work for a San Francisco law firm that dealt in Texas land and land scrip. His first case yielded him a fee of twenty-five sections of land in West Texas. He moved to Texas immediately and, with his brother Glen, opened a land and law office in San Angelo in 1883. The young lawyer and surveyor soon branched out into the cattle business and in 1891 moved to Ozona. That section of the state was then a part of Bexar County, but under Davidson's leadership the separate Crockett County was organized. Davidson was elected the first county judge and county school superintendent on July 7, 1891. His tenure as county judge is probably unparalleled in the United States: during his fifty-one years on the bench he never sought reelection. In 1893 Judge Davidson married Dixie R. Friend; they reared seven children. Davidson briefly published the Ozona Stockman . He successfully combined the career of county judge with that of lawyer, rancher, surveyor, educator, publisher, businessman, and philosopher. His long service in behalf of his community earned him the nickname "Godfather of Crockett County." He was a Methodist and a Mason. Davidson died at his ranch home near Ozona on July 25, 1944.
Crockett County is located in southwestern Texas on the western edge of the Edwards Plateau . It is bounded on the west by the Pecos River, which separates it from Terrell and Pecos counties. Its northern border is formed by Crane, Upton, Reagan, and Irion counties, while Schleicher and Sutton counties border it on the east and Val Verde County on the south. Ozona, the county seat and only town, is located eighty-two miles southwest of San Angelo. The center point of the county is at 30°41' north latitude and 101°21' west longitude. Crockett County comprises 2,806 square miles. The terrain consists of deep, narrow, steep-walled canyons and flat mesas in the southern and western areas. Broad valleys and flat divides characterize the northern part. The northeastern part is a large flat divide separating the Colorado River and Rio Grande basins. The surface geology is Cretaceous. The soils are dark, calcareous, stony clays and clay loams. The western half of the county is desert shrub savanna, and the eastern half is juniper, oak, and mesquite savanna. Altitudes vary from 1,500 feet above sea level in the southwest to 2,800 feet above sea level in the northwest. Temperatures vary from an average low of 32° F in January to an average high of 96° in July. The average rainfall is eighteen inches per year. The growing season extends across 233 days. Numerous draws, dry most of the year, drain the county during floods and empty into the Devils and Pecos rivers. Johnsons Run and Howard Draw bisect the central area before reaching the Devils and the Pecos, respectively, in Val Verde County. Live Oak Creek runs to the south from the northwest and enters the Pecos at Lancaster Hill. The dry bed of Spring Creek originates in the northeastern corner of the county and extends northeast to the Middle Concho River. Early important sources of water for prehistoric people and early travelers were Live Oak Spring and Cedar Springs, which once provided strong flows in western Crockett County. Among the first people to take water from the springs were the early inhabitants of Gobbler Shelter, located on a small tributary canyon of Live Oak Creek. Prehistoric people lived over long periods of time in the shelter, where they left artifacts. Spaniards first passed through the area of Crockett County in 1590, when Gaspar Castaño de Sosa brought the first Europeans through the isolated canyonland. Castaño led a mining expedition from Monclova, Chihuahua, to the northern New Mexico pueblo of Santo Domingo. His party of 170 men, women, and children is thought to have traveled up Johnsons Run and crossed the western section of the future Crockett County to reach the Pecos River. On May 22, 1684, Juan Domínguez de Mendoza and his expedition crossed the Pecos River and camped at a site Domínguez called San Pantaleón now in Crockett County. At that time several Indian tribes lived in the area, among them Lipan Apaches and Tonkawas. Comanches drifted into the area during the eighteenth century, displacing earlier inhabitants. John Coffee Hays led an expedition through the county in 1849, charting waterholes for a freighting and stagecoach route from San Antonio to El Paso. In 1852 Col. Joseph Mansfield of the United States Army inspected the road from El Paso to San Antonio. After determining that travelers along the route needed more military protection against Indian attacks, he recommended establishing a new post on Live Oak Creek just above its juncture with the Pecos River. In response to Mansfield's recommendation, Fort Lancaster was founded on the east bank of Live Oak Creek August 20, 1855. When Texas seceded from the Union less than six years later, the fort was abandoned. A small Confederate unit held it for a short time, but soon left it. After the war the former fort was used only as a subpost. After 1874 it fell into complete decay. Following the Civil War , Anglo-Americans moved into the frontier region and took up the unoccupied
William Peery Hoover, early rancher and settler of Crockett County, one of five children of Henry Fox and Mary Alice (Peery) Hoover, was born in Hamilton County, Texas, on April 25, 1854. His parents had moved to the county in 1850. When Hoover was a young man, he and his brother Henry established a ranching operation on Cow House Creek in Hamilton County. On January 7, 1878, Hoover married Laura Carolyn McNutt, daughter of Jim McNutt of Tennessee; they had fourteen children. A few years after the marriage, the couple moved to unsettled land in West Texas. They gathered their cattle and drove them over trackless terrain to Beaver Lake in Val Verde County, where they found water for the livestock. They settled east of the Pecos River in Crockett County, and Hoover built the first house in that county in 1881. It was built in a large oak grove from cedar pickets, mud, and grass. Hoover leased land along the Pecos River from the railroad for five cents an acre. Through purchasing land from the railroad and homesteading, he acquired a 157-section ranch. Hoover was one of the founders of Ozona. He was a Mason. He died on June 4, 1922.
A native of Illinois, E. M. Powell was a surveyor and railroad engineer in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1874. He worked as a surveyor during the railroad construction boom in Texas in the 1870s, taking parcels of land in payment for his services. By 1878 Powell and a partner, E. L. Gage, opened a real estate and land surveying company in Dallas. Powell soon began promoting his land holdings in West Texas and placed newspaper advertisements to encourage settlement in this area. To the first families who purchased homesteads out of his 185,000-acre tract of land in present Crockett County, he offered forty acres of free land as well as reduced prices for additional acreage. The city of Ozona was founded on Powell's property. He provided a public well and windmill, as well as lots for public buildings, churches, and a school. As a result of his settlement efforts, the county of Crockett was organized in 1891 with Ozona as the county seat. Married to the former Mary Almyra Durrell, Powell was the father of one son, Durrell, who died at age seven. Powell was a major contributor to the Dallas Congregational Church and to other charities. (1991)
Site 33 miles west on US 90. Upon US surrender Texas Forts start of Civil War, made part Confederate far western frontier line. Occupied by 2nd Texas cavalry. On supply line to and from Arizona-New Mexico Campaign 1861-62, intended to make Confederacy an ocean to ocean nation. When regular patrols to guard supply trains and check Indian activities grew dull, life spiced by camp newspaper and nightly sport of shooting pesky coyotes. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963
38 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
Charles E. Davidson, lawyer, rancher, and county judge, was born on July 10, 1856, in Nicholas County, Kentucky, and spent his childhood on a farm in Iowa. After attending Cornell University and the University of Iowa,…
Crockett County is located in southwestern Texas on the western edge of the Edwards Plateau . It is bounded on the west by the Pecos River, which separates it from Terrell and Pecos counties. Its northern border is…
William Peery Hoover, early rancher and settler of Crockett County, one of five children of Henry Fox and Mary Alice (Peery) Hoover, was born in Hamilton County, Texas, on April 25, 1854. His parents had moved to the…
You're driving through Ozona, but did you know this town started as a simple watering hole? In 1891, E. M. Powell drilled a well, creating Powell Well. He offered land and water for a school, churches, and a courthouse,…
You're driving through Crockett County, not far from Ozona. Right here, in 1885, a surveyor named Joe Moss drilled the first water well in the county. This discovery on Johnson Draw changed everything, bringing new life…
You're driving through Ozona, the heart of ranching country. Right here, the Ozona Stockman newspaper has been serving this community since 1892. Originally called the Ozona Kicker, it started as a voice for the…
You're driving through Crockett County, and right here, you passed the site of a town that literally moved. In 1888, a well-driller hit water, and T.A. Wilkinson of the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway saw potential.…
You're driving through Ozona, and just ahead is the spot where Joseph L. Casbeer settled in 1898. A Confederate veteran, Casbeer served in Company G of the Texas Infantry. He fought through the Civil War until his…
You're driving past the marker for Henry Street Hudspeth, a Confederate veteran of the Civil War. He rode with Captain, Co. B, 2nd Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry. Born in Mississippi, Hudspeth came to Texas in 1877 and…
A native of Illinois, E. M. Powell was a surveyor and railroad engineer in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1874. He worked as a surveyor during the railroad construction boom in Texas in the 1870s, taking parcels of…
Was born in Tennessee on August 17, 1786 Participated in the Creek Indian Campaign 1813-1814 Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives 1821-1823. United States Congressman from Tennessee 1827-1831 and 1833-1835…
Site 33 miles west on US 90. Upon US surrender Texas Forts start of Civil War, made part Confederate far western frontier line. Occupied by 2nd Texas cavalry. On supply line to and from Arizona-New Mexico Campaign…
You're driving past the old Crockett County Jail in Ozona, built way back in 1892. The stone for this place was quarried right nearby. Now, get this: the tower might have been built for hangings, but they never actually…
You're driving through Ozona, and right here is the site of the Old Ozona Hotel. Built around 1893, this place wasn't just for travelers. It also housed teachers, visiting sports teams, and business folks. But its most…
You're driving through Ozona, and right here is the Crockett County Courthouse, built in 1902. Designed by Oscar Ruffini in a beautiful American Gothic style, it cost thirty thousand dollars, a hefty sum back then. But…
You're driving past Ozona's first bank, built way back in 1905. This stone building was a big deal for Crockett County, which was mostly cattle and sheep country back then. The bank was organized by the ranchers and the…
You're driving past Ozona, and right here is where the town's very first water well was drilled back in 1891. This wasn't just any well; it was the heart of early Ozona life. City founder E.M. Powell equipped it with an…
You're driving through Crockett County, formed from old Bexar Territory way back in 1875. It was officially organized in 1891 and named for the legendary David Crockett, who served in Congress before meeting his fate at…
You're driving past Ozona Stockman. In 1892 Claude B. Hudspeth (1877-1941) began publication of a weekly newspaper called the "Ozona Kicker." Following his three-year ownership, Hudspeth entered politics, serving first…
You're driving through Ozona, and right here, back in 1891, this spot was chosen as the county seat *because* of water. A producing well, dug by Joe Moss for railroad surveyor E.M. Powell, was the key. Powell donated…
You're driving through Ozona, and just ahead is the Perner House. Originally a small, three-room home moved here in 1893, it was purchased the next year by Phillip Perner, a local merchant. He enlarged the house, and…
You're driving through Ozona, and right here is the story of Pharis Hurst. He was a Union Army soldier in the Civil War, fighting all the way through the brutal Siege of Vicksburg. The war cost him an arm, but not his…
You're driving past Ozona, where Samuel Theodore Smith settled after fighting for the Confederacy. He served in the 18th Louisiana Cavalry during the Civil War. After the war, he came to Texas in 1872, eventually making…
You're driving through Ozona, Texas, a town that became home to William Mathias Miller. Born in Maryland, Miller's Civil War service is a story of divided loyalties. He fought for the Confederacy in Virginia, while his…
You're driving past the site of Fort Lancaster, established back in 1855 by the U.S. government. This fort was built to protect travelers and mail along the vital San Antonio to San Diego route. Though abandoned in 1861…
You're driving past Ozona Junior High, a building that made history when this town was still finding its feet. Constructed between 1910 and 1912 from local limestone, this was Ozona's very first permanent schoolhouse.…
A significant and tragic event in Ozona's history was the flood of 1954, which resulted in the loss of 16 lives and the destruction of about half of the homes in the town.
In 1925, the first producing oil well in the world was discovered on L. P. Powell's ranch in north central Crockett County by Chester R. Bunker's World Oil Company. This was a significant event in the county's history.
You're driving through Crockett County, and right here is the site of Emerald, the first town ever platted in this county. Founded in 1889 by T.W. Wilkinson, it was meant to be a boomtown for the Fort Worth & Rio Grande…
You're driving past the site of the High Lonesome Stage Stand, built back in 1902. This was the first stop after leaving Ozona on the San Angelo-Ozona mail line, a crucial point 20 miles into an 86-mile run. Ten horses…
You're driving through Crockett County, where by the 1920s, fences were making it tough for ranchers to get their livestock to the Barnhart shipping point. But in 1924, the Ozona-Barnhart Trap Company stepped in. They…
You're driving through Crockett County, and right here, two miles west of Highway 349, was a place with more names than a spy: Camp Melvin. Established in 1868, this wasn't just a military outpost; it was a critical…
You're driving through Crockett County, and right here was Fort Lancaster, a vital post on the old San Antonio to El Paso road. Established in 1855, its soldiers weren't just guarding the fort; they were escorting mail…
You're driving through West Texas, perhaps near the Pecos River. Right here, in May of 1849, Richard Austin Howard discovered this draw and its vital spring. He was scouting for Lt. William Henry Chase Whiting's…
You're driving through West Texas, maybe near Crockett County, and you're passing through land that was once home to the Tepelguan Indians. In 1590, explorer Gaspar Castaño de Sosa encountered this group along the Pecos…
You're driving through Livingston, where education has been a cornerstone since the 1840s. Look for the site of the old Masonic Lodge, where classes were held for a free academy starting in 1849. By 1908, Livingston…
You're driving past the site of an early 1900s stage stand, the very first stop on the passenger and mail line that connected Ozona to the Southern Pacific railhead in Comstock, a grueling 80 miles away. Imagine this:…
You're driving through Cone, a village named for S. E. Cone, who helped carry the mail here back in 1903. That same year, the post office opened in R. E. Chapman's general store, and Chapman became the first postmaster.…