Loyal Valley is an
unincorporated farming and ranching community, established in 1858, and is north of
Cherry Spring in the southeastern corner of
Mason County, in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. The community is located near Cold Spring Creek, which runs east for to its mouth on Marschall Creek in
Llano County
Llano County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 21,243. Its county seat is Llano, and the county is named for the Llano River.
During the American Civil War, the c ...
, just east of Loyal Valley. The community is located on the old
Pinta Trail.
The year 2000 population was 50. Elevation .
Settlers and Community
Loyal Valley was settled in 1858 by
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
immigrants from
Fredericksburg, including Henry and Christian Keyser, John Kidd, and a Mr. Gertsdorff (most likely Von Gersdorff or Gersdorff, as it was spelled in that era). 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.
John O. Meusebach moved to Loyal Valley after the
New Braunfels
New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas known for its German Texan heritage. It is the seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north ...
tornado of September 12, 1869 destroyed his home there. 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
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. 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.
The
Meusebach-Comanche Treaty was brokered in with the
Penateka
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
Comanche Tribe
The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...
1847, making area settlers safe from Penataka raids. However,
Kiowa
Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...
,
Apache and other Comanche tribes still committed depredations against the settlers. During the 1870s, settlers from neighboring communities relocated to Loyal Valley for safety.
Herman Lehmann
Herman Lehmann (June 5, 1859 – February 2, 1932) was captured as a child by Native Americans. He lived first among the Apache and then the Comanche but eventually returned to his family later in life. The phenomenon of a white child raised by I ...
, son of Augusta and Moritz Lehmann, became the most famous captive of the Apache depredations. He escaped the Apache, to be later rescued by the Comanche and adopted by chief
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker (Comanche ''kwana'', "smell, odor") ( – February 23, 1911) was a war leader of the Kwahadi ("Antelope") band of the Comanche Nation. He was likely born into the Nokoni ("Wanderers") band of Tabby-nocca and grew up among the Kwah ...
.
Philip Buchmeyer (or Buchmeier) was the second husband of the widowed Augusta Lehmann, and stepfather to her sons Herman and Willie. 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.
In the midst of the war, Loyal Valley home owner Tim Williamson
was murdered by a dozen masked vigilantes who accused him of cattle theft. Williamson's adopted son
Texas Ranger Scott Cooley Scott Cooley (1845 – June 1876) was an Old West Texas Ranger and later outlaw, best known for his association with gunman Johnny Ringo.
Biography
Cooley was born in Texas, and was unofficially adopted as a boy and raised by rancher Tim Willia ...
sought revenge. Cooley and his desperadoes, which included
Johnny Ringo
John Peters Ringo (May 3, 1850 – July 13, 1882), known as Johnny Ringo, was an American Old West outlaw loosely associated with the Cochise County Cowboys in frontier boomtown Tombstone, Arizona Territory. He took part in the Mason County ...
,
created a reign of terror over the area. It was during this episode that Ringo committed his first murder, that of James Cheyney.
[ TexFiles]
See also
*
German Texan
German Texan (german: Deutschtexaner) is both a term to describe immigrants who arrived in the Republic of Texas from Germany from the 1830s onward and an ethnic category that includes their descendants in today's state of Texas. The arriving Ge ...
*
Texas Hill Country
References
External links
Mason County Historic Preservation
{{authority control
Unincorporated communities in Mason County, Texas
Unincorporated communities in Texas
German-American history
German-American culture in Texas
Populated places established in 1858
1858 establishments in Texas