Loyal Valley, Texas

Loyal Valley, Texas
unincorporated community
Loyal Valley, Texas

Location within the state of Texas

Coordinates: 30°34′33″N 99°00′28″W / 30.57583°N 99.00778°W / 30.57583; -99.00778Coordinates: 30°34′33″N 99°00′28″W / 30.57583°N 99.00778°W / 30.57583; -99.00778
Country United States
State Texas
County Mason
Elevation 1,522 ft (464 m)
Population (2000)
 • Total 50
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code(s) 325
FIPS code 48-44320[1]
GNIS feature ID 1380113[2]

Loyal Valley is an unincorporated farming and ranching community, established in 1858, and is 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Cherry Spring in the southeastern corner of Mason County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The community is located near Cold Spring Creek,[3] which runs east for 7.5 miles (12.1 km) to its mouth on Marschall Creek in Llano County, just west of Loyal Valley. The community is located on the old Pinta Trail.[4][5]

Current population is 50. Elevation 1,522 feet (464 m).[6]

Settlers and Community

Loyal Valley was settled in 1858 by German immigrants from Fredericksburg, including Henry and Christian Keyser, John Kidd, and a Mr. Gertsdorff.[7] It was also a stagecoach stop on the route between San Antonio and the western forts.

The community received a post office in 1868, and Solomon Wright was the first postmaster.[8]

John O. Meusebach[9] moved to Loyal Valley after the New Braunfels tornado of September 12, 1869 destroyed his home there.[10][11] According to Meusebach's granddaughter Irene Marschall King, he named the area for his personal loyalty to the Union that he had maintained during the American Civil War. He operated a general store and stage stop. Meusebach was appointed justice of the peace, notary public and served as the community's second postmaster in 1873. His daughter Lucy Meusebach Marschall was postmaster in January 1887, and his wife Agnes became postmaster in August 1887.[12]

For more details on this topic, see Homesite of John O. Meusebach.

Meusebach brokered the Meusebach-Comanche Treaty in 1847,[13] making area settlers safe from Comanche raids. However, Kiowa, and Apache depredations were still committed against the settlers. During the 1870s, settlers from neighboring communities relocated to Loyal Valley for safety.

The most famous white captive of the area was Herman Lehmann, son of Augusta and Moritz Lehmann.[14][15] Philip Buchmeyer (or Buchmeier) was the second husband of the widowed Augusta Lehmann, and stepfather to her sons Herman and Willie.[16] The Buchmeyers ran a hotel and saloon, which later was owned by Charlie Metcalf. Philip Buchmeyer built a one-room stone structure school-church, which was still standing as of 1980.

Mason County Hoo Doo War

In 1875, the Mason County Hoo Doo War erupted over cattle rustling and those who took the law into their own hands. Armed bands raided settlements spreading fear and unrest. John O. Meusebach was shot in the leg during a raid of his store.[12] In the midst of the war, Loyal Valley home owner Tim Williamson[17][18] was murdered by a dozen masked vigilantes who accused him of cattle theft. Williamson's adopted son Texas Ranger Scott Cooley[18] sought revenge. Cooley and his desperadoes, which included Johnny Ringo,[19] created a reign of terror over the area. It was during this episode that Ringo committed his first murder, that of James Cheyney.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. ↑ Cold Spring Creek from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
  4. ↑ Nixon, Nina L.: Pinta Trail (El Camino Pinta) from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
  5. ↑ "El Camino Pinta" (PDF). City of San Antonio. Retrieved 30 April 2010.City of San Antonio
  6. ↑ "Geographical Names Information System, Loyal Valley". U.S. Dept of the Interior. Retrieved 30 April 2010. U.S. Dept of the Interior
  7. ↑ Rhoades, Alice .: Loyal Valley from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
  8. ↑ "Loyal Valley Postmasters". Jim Wheat. Retrieved 30 April 2010.Jim Wheat
  9. ↑ Kennedy, Ira. "German Intellectuals on the Texas Frontier". TexFiles. Retrieved 30 April 2010. TexFiles
  10. ↑ Goyne, Minetta Altgelt (1982). Lone Star and Double Eagle: Civil War Letters of a German-Texas Family. Texas Christian Univ Pr. p. 198. ISBN 978-0-912646-68-8.
  11. ↑ "George F Toll 320 acres land grant April 30, 1873 to John O Meusebach". Texas General Land Office. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  12. 1 2 King, Irene Marschall (1967). John O.Meusebach. University of Texas Press. pp. 161–171. ISBN 978-0-292-73656-6.
  13. ↑ Tetzlaff, Otto W: Meusebach-Comanche Treaty from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Texas State Historical Association
  14. ↑ Lehmann, Herman; Hunter, J Marvin; Giese, Dale F. (1993). Nine Years Among the Indians, 1870–1879: The Story of the Captivity and Life of a Texan Among the Indians. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN 978-0-8263-1417-8.
  15. ↑ Hudspeth, Brewster. "The Savage Life Of Herman Lehmann". Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Texas Escapes – Blueprints For Travel, LLC.
  16. ↑ "Loyal Valley Cemetery". Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  17. ↑ "Tim Williamson". Find A Grave. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  18. 1 2 Johnson, David; Miller, Rick (2009). The Mason County ""Hoo Doo"" War, 1874–1902 (A.C. Greene Series). University of North Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-57441-262-8.
  19. ↑ Johnson, David; Parsons, Chuck (2008). John Ringo, King of the Cowboys: His Life and Times from the Hoo Doo War to Tombstone, Second Edition (A. C. Greene). University of North Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-57441-243-7.
  20. ↑ Hadeler, Glenn. "The Mason County Hoo Doo Wars". TexFiles. Retrieved 30 April 2010. TexFiles
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