Pandale is a ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 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...

. It is a small town whose current population is smaller than in some previous years. It has been noted as a starting point for canoeing expeditions.

Location and Population

Pandale is located in Val Verde County at the end of Farm Road 1024. It is located near the Pecos River. The town can also be reached by an unpaved road heading southwest from Ozona. The population in 2000 was 20.

History

Prehistoric people lived in the area and left relics, such as arrowheads, one of which is called a “Pandale”.

Notes on Pandale
The name of Pandale originates from its pan-like shape (pan) location in a valley (dale). The town began as a settlement where a crossing was established on the Pecos River. Around 1928, the town became a ranching community. There was once a school in the town but it closed when the school district was consolidated with the Comstock Independent School District in 1969. The last business closed in 1973. There is no longer a post office in the town.

Structures in Pandale consist of a two-story stone house once owned by Henry James Young Mills, an out building that was formerly a garage and general store, also owned by the Mills family and a single room school house which was also used for Sunday school.

Canoeing

Pandale is a frequented area to begin a canoeing journey down the Pecos River. The journey requires preparedness and good physical conditioning.

External links

• Photograph of structure in Pandale
• Canoeing from Pandale Writer takes his son down the Pecos from Pandale and writes about it.

Pandale is mentioned briefly in the Cormac McCarthy novel All the Pretty Horses.