Comstock, Texas
Encyclopedia
Comstock is an unincorporated community
in Val Verde County
, Texas
, United States
.
Comstock is about 24 miles (50 km) northwest of Del Rio
on U.S. 90. It is the town nearest to Seminole Canyon, which has been a site of human habitation for 9,000 years. Comstock itself was founded around 1883 on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway as the line drove west toward El Paso
. Although first platted as Sotol City, it was later named for John Comstock, a railroad dispatcher.
The town was located near a natural lake, which was used for the town's water supply but is today only intermittent. The town was granted a post office in 1888, but its remote location and limited resources kept the town from growing quickly. Comstock's biggest scene was between 1888 and 1910, when the Deaton Stage Line operated between the town's railroad depot and the city of Ozona
some sixty miles (100 km) north. The depot at Comstock did not long outlast the stagecoach line, and although the names on the businesses have changed little has changed in the town in 70 years.
Seminole Canyon, now a state park, has cave drawings
and other evidence of settlement dating from the Early Archaic Period, around 7000 BC. Later remains include stone circles and cairns of the Late Prehistoric, and even 19th Century remains from the construction of the Southern Pacific
, one of the nation's first transcontinental railroads.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Val Verde County
Val Verde County, Texas
Val Verde County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2008, estimated population was 55,000. Its county seat is Del Rio. In 1936, Val Verde County received Recorded Texas Historic Landmark number 5625 to commemorate its founding.Val Verde, which means "green...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Comstock is about 24 miles (50 km) northwest of Del Rio
Del Rio, Texas
Del Rio is a border city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, United States.. Del Rio is connected with Ciudad Acuña via the Lake Amistad Dam International Crossing and Del Río-Ciudad Acuña International Bridge...
on U.S. 90. It is the town nearest to Seminole Canyon, which has been a site of human habitation for 9,000 years. Comstock itself was founded around 1883 on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway as the line drove west toward El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. Although first platted as Sotol City, it was later named for John Comstock, a railroad dispatcher.
Ozona, Texas
Ozona is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Crockett County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,436 at the 2000 census...
some sixty miles (100 km) north. The depot at Comstock did not long outlast the stagecoach line, and although the names on the businesses have changed little has changed in the town in 70 years.
Seminole Canyon, now a state park, has cave drawings
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
and other evidence of settlement dating from the Early Archaic Period, around 7000 BC. Later remains include stone circles and cairns of the Late Prehistoric, and even 19th Century remains from the construction of the Southern Pacific
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
, one of the nation's first transcontinental railroads.