Everything Sonora is known for
Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Sonora.
Sonora is home to several landmarks, including the Caverns of Sonora, approximately eight miles to the west, the Eaton Hill Nature Center with its interpretive exhibits and over three miles of hiking trails, the Miers House Museum, a restored 1890s Victorian home, and the Old Sonora Ice House Ranch Museum, which focuses on the legacy of Will Carver.
Just a few miles from where you are now lies a place that's been called 'the most beautiful show cave on Earth.' The Caverns of Sonora are a world away from the dry ranchland above. The story goes that around 1905, at the turn of the twentieth century, a ranch dog chased a raccoon into a 20-inch hole on the Mayfield Ranch, revealing the cave's entrance. For years, it was just a local curiosity. But in 1955, a group of Dallas-based cavers explored its narrow passages and discovered its true treasures: mile after mile of the most delicate and intricate crystal formations imaginable. Unlike many caves known for massive rooms, Sonora is famous for its stunning, filigreed beauty. Now a National Natural Landmark, it's a reminder that the biggest wonders in this landscape are sometimes hidden just beneath the surface.
How do you form a cave that has been called 'the world's most beautiful'? It's all about chemistry, physics, and time. The story of the Caverns of Sonora starts with the limestone bedrock under your feet. For millions of years, rainwater, made slightly acidic by carbon dioxide from the air, seeped into cracks in the rock. This weak carbonic acid slowly dissolved the limestone, carving out the passages. But the real magic is what happened next. As that same water, now rich with dissolved calcite, dripped into the air-filled cave, it released its carbon dioxide. This forced the calcite to precipitate out of the solution, one microscopic crystal at a time. Over eons, these drips built the stunning stalactites and stalagmites. What makes Sonora globally unique are its helictites—bizarre, twisting formations that seem to defy gravity. They are formed by water seeping through porous rock under hydrostatic pressure, pushing crystals out in all directions. It’s a breathtaking display of natural physics, hidden right beneath the Texas soil.
The Caverns of Sonora contain some of the most extensive and pristine helictite formations in the world. The cave was discovered by a ranch hand in 1955.
The Caverns of Sonora are ten miles southwest of Sonora in Sutton County (at 30°33' N, 100°49' W). Their formation began during the Cretaceous Period, several million years ago, while the area was submerged. Limestone pockets were dissolved by acidic groundwater, and when the sea receded, empty chambers were left underground. Millions of years of dripping water subsequently deposited a variety of colorful formations. The cave entrance was discovered on Stanley Mayfield's ranch in 1900, but extensive exploration did not begin until 1955. A 1,800-foot section of the cave was opened to the public in 1960, and an additional 1,700 feet was made accessible in 1961; by mid-1979 the cave's public tour was 1½ miles long. Although small in size-the 7½-mile cave has no huge rooms or giant formations-the Caverns of Sonora have been ranked as one of the most spectacular cave complexes in the world. It has been said that the caverns' beauty "cannot be exaggerated, even by Texans." Unlike most caves, the caverns have hundreds of helictites, ranging in shape from soda straws to fish fins. The most famous attraction is a pair of symmetrical fishtail helictites that form a butterfly shape. The people who prepared the cave for public viewing took care to preserve the cave's natural humidity levels, and the temperature inside is a constant 71° F. Ninety-five percent of the cave is "alive," with formations still growing. The Caverns of Sonora were named a National Natural Landmark in 1966. In addition to the underground tours, the caverns offer aboveground facilities for camping and picnicking. In the 1990s visitors averaged 40,000 annually.
This building site of all land transactions incident to development of county. Water well, a few feet from building, was first water here, where sheepmen watered their flocks, hence locating here as a home. Father of founder of the townsite killed father of one of West Texas' most prominent families on site of Courthouse over argument concerning watering sheep.
At outbreak Civil War, this veteran soldier, Ranger, Indian fighter joined 7th Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers. Elected lt. colonel, led five companies Arizona-New Mexico campaign designed to make Confederacy an ocean to ocean nation. Mortally wounded in Battle of Val Verde while leading rifle assault against enemy cannons, he refused immediate aid and motioned on his battalion which captured the battery. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.
Millard Cope, newspaper publisher, was born on December 31, 1905, to James A. and Hattie B. (Parkerson) Cope in Sonora, Texas, where at the age of twelve he began working for the local newspaper setting type by hand for a nickel a stick (about two column inches). As a student at Sonora High School he was elected the first chairman of the executive board of the Texas High School Press Association when it was organized at Baylor University in 1922. In 1925, during his third year at Howard Payne College, he was elected president of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association. He received his bachelor's degree in journalism in 1927 after a senior year at the University of Missouri, where he covered the state capitol for the student newspaper. In 1958 he was Howard Payne "Man of the Year," and in 1959 he received the University of Missouri's Honor Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism. After graduating he joined the staff of the San Angelo Morning Times , newly begun in 1927 by Houston Harte , as a morning edition of the San Angelo Standard . His next assignment, from 1930 to 1936, was as publisher of the Sweetwater Reporter when it was purchased by Harte and Bernard Hanks of Abilene ( see HARTE-HANKS COMMUNICATIONS ). After its sale he was assigned to the Dallas office of the Texas Daily Press League, from where in 1940 he went to Denison as publisher of the Denison Herald . In January 1945 he was made publisher of the News Messenger in Marshall, where he remained for seventeen years and where his service to journalism brought him to national attention. He was director of the Associated Press (1959–64) and president of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association (1957). By appointment of Governor Allan Shivers in 1953 and reappointment by Governor Price Daniel in 1959 he was a founding director of what is now the Texas Historical Commission and of the Texas Historical Foundation. In 1956 he served as a member of the Texas Commission on Higher Education, with supervisory responsibility over eighteen Texas institutions of higher learning. Governor Daniel also appointed him a member of the Texas Civil War Centennial Commission, for which service he received an award from the national commission. In 1963 President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the national advisory council for the Peace Corps. Cope became publisher of the San Angelo Standard-Times in August 1962. During his many years as publisher of small Texas dailies Cope discovered and trained a number of young men and women who went on to establish national reputations of their own. Most notable of these were brothers James and Bill Moyers of Marshall, Lloyd May (Cissy) Stewart of Cleburne, and Jack Maguire of Denison. Although Cope did not openly profess a party affiliation, he was a conservative. Bill Moyers, who named his older son Cope, later wrote of his mentor, "In a way he was to small-town publishing in the 40s and 50s what William Allen White was to small-town editing, although White's reputation spread through his writing, and Millard's through personal character." Cope married Margaret Kilgore of San Angelo on December 12, 1931. They had a son and a daughter. He was a Presbyterian. He died on January 4, 1964, and was buried in San Angelo.
The Caverns of Sonora hide off Interstate 10 between Sonora and Ozona and the National Speleological Society has called this cave the most indescribably…
Called the most beautiful cave in the world. Crystal formations so delicate they look like frost.
Featured on The Daytripper — a full-episode local travel guide.
22 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.
The Caverns of Sonora contain some of the most extensive and pristine helictite formations in the world. The cave was discovered by a ranch hand in 1955.
Sonora is home to several landmarks, including the Caverns of Sonora, approximately eight miles to the west, the Eaton Hill Nature Center with its interpretive exhibits and over three miles of hiking trails, the Miers…
You're driving past the Old Rock Schoolhouse, built in 1904 with native stone by T.S. Hodges. It started by housing the entire Sonora school system and later became a junior high and elementary school. Look for the 1914…
The Caverns of Sonora are ten miles southwest of Sonora in Sutton County (at 30°33' N, 100°49' W). Their formation began during the Cretaceous Period, several million years ago, while the area was submerged. Limestone…
You're driving through Sonora, Texas, a town that owes its existence to a rancher named Charlie Adams. Back in 1885, Adams settled near a place called Winkler's Well. By 1887, he'd named his new community Sonora, after…
Millard Cope, newspaper publisher, was born on December 31, 1905, to James A. and Hattie B. (Parkerson) Cope in Sonora, Texas, where at the age of twelve he began working for the local newspaper setting type by hand for…
You're driving through Sonora, and right here is the Old Mercantile Building, built between 1902 and 1903. It was constructed by Ed R. Jackson, a local rancher and banker, and features a fancy Italianate facade with…
This building site of all land transactions incident to development of county. Water well, a few feet from building, was first water here, where sheepmen watered their flocks, hence locating here as a home. Father of…
At outbreak Civil War, this veteran soldier, Ranger, Indian fighter joined 7th Regiment Texas Mounted Volunteers. Elected lt. colonel, led five companies Arizona-New Mexico campaign designed to make Confederacy an ocean…
You're driving through Sonora, where this impressive stone jail was built in 1891 by the Pauley Jail Company. It was a two-story structure, featuring a jailer's residence alongside cells for lawbreakers. The very first…
You're driving through Sonora, and right here is where this town got its first taste of reliable water. In 1889, Charlie Adams sank this well, using a horse-driven drill to tap into the arid ground. A windmill pumped…
You're driving through Sutton County, and you might be passing near the old Frisco Trailway. This wasn't a railroad, but a hundred-mile-long, 250-foot-wide cattle lane, used from 1900 to 1930. Agent E.F. Tillman built…
You're driving past the Miers House, built in 1888 by Isaac Miers, a Civil War veteran. He hauled the lumber all the way from San Angelo to construct this board-and-batten cottage. After ranching across several…
Just a few miles from where you are now lies a place that's been called 'the most beautiful show cave on Earth.' The Caverns of Sonora are a world away from the dry ranchland above. The story goes that around 1905, at…
How do you form a cave that has been called 'the world's most beautiful'? It's all about chemistry, physics, and time. The story of the Caverns of Sonora starts with the limestone bedrock under your feet. For millions…
On the night of April 2, 1901, a piece of the Wild West legend came to a bloody end right here in Sonora. Will 'News' Carver, a key member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, had ridden in with George Kilpatrick and a couple…
You're driving past the site of Wentworth, a town that sprang up in the late 1880s around a water well. Its main building served as school, church, and meeting hall for the Dee Ora Lodge. Wentworth lost the county seat…
You're driving through Sutton County, named for John S. Sutton, a soldier and Indian fighter who died from Civil War wounds. This land has traces of culture going back 20,000 years, then Apache tribes lived here until…
Called the most beautiful cave in the world. Crystal formations so delicate they look like frost.
You're driving through Sutton County, a place defined by its biggest challenge: water. For thousands of years, people have lived here, but the dry winds and scarce rain made life tough. That all started to change in…
The Caverns of Sonora hide off Interstate 10 between Sonora and Ozona and the National Speleological Society has called this cave the most indescribably…
You're driving past Site of J.D. Earnest Ranch Stage Stand. During the ownership of rancher J. D. Earnest, this site was used as a rest stop on the stage line between San Angelo and Sonora. Owned and managed by Theodore…