Camp Verde is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

Kerr County Kerr County is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 52,598. Its county seat is Kerrville, Texas, Kerrville. The county wa ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, United States. The town is approximately the halfway point between

Bandera Bandera - from a Spanish word meaning a ''flag'' - may refer to: Places * Bandera County, Texas ** Bandera, Texas, its county seat ** Bandera Creek, a river in Texas, with its source near Bandera Pass ** Bandera Pass, a mountain pass in Bandera C ...

and

Kerrville Kerrville is a city in, and the county seat of, Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler- ...

along SH 173 in the

Texas Hill Country The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the Ameri ...

History

The town of Camp Verde came about from the

Old Camp Verde Camp Verde was a United States Army facility established on July 8, 1856 in Kerr County, Texas along the road from San Antonio, Texas, San Antonio to El Paso, Texas, El Paso. The camp was the headquarters for U.S. Camel Corps, which experimented w ...

military camp. The town grew around the old Williams community store (opened in 1857), which was built to serve the soldiers stationed at the base. After Williams died in 1858, German immigrant Charles Schreiner acquired the store. After the camp was abandoned, the store continued to operate as a post office for area residents. The first post office opened in 1858, running out of Schreiner's store. This post office closed in 1866. When the post office reopened in 1887, Charles C. Kelly served as post master. However, this post office was also closed in 1892. Walter S. Nowlin re-established the post office and store in 1899.

The Camel Experiment

In 1854,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

(who later became the president of the Confederacy), pushed for the use of camels by the American Army. The initiative was passed by

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

on March 3, 1855, and the first camels arrived in the area in April 1856. After the fort was deactivated in 1869, the experiment died with it.

Camp Verde General Store

The Camp Verde General Store is still in operation to this day, having been in operation for over 150 years. The store has become somewhat of a tourist attraction in the area. The store also runs the post office and operates a restaurant.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system, Camp Verde has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.Climate Summary for Camp Verde, Texas
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References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Kerr County, Texas Unincorporated communities in Texas