Loyal Valley

Loyal Valley is a community just east of Interstate Highway 87 near Cold Spring Creek in a valley circled by low hills in the southeastern corner of Mason County. One of the oldest communities in the county, it was settled around 1858 by German settlers from the Fredericksburg area, including Henry and Christian Keyser, John Kidd, and a Mr. Gertsdorff. John O. Meusebach moved to Loyal Valley from Fredericksburg in 1869. He laid out the town, operated a store and nursery there, and later served as postmaster and as justice of the peace. He is also said to have built a Roman-style bathhouse, which was still standing in 1976. Some sources say that Meusebach gave the town its name because of the mutual cooperation and loyalty between the local settlers. Other sources say Meusebach chose the name to proclaim the loyalty of the area to the Union during the Civil War.

Loyal Valley was once the leading town in that section of the Fisher-Miller Land Grant. During the 1870s difficulties with the Indians caused settlers from outlying communities to move to Loyal Valley for protection. It was also a stagecoach stop on the route between San Antonio and the western forts. It had a hotel, which was run by the Buchmeyer family and later owned by Charlie Metcalf, and a saloon. Horseraces were often held on the flats outside of town. A Loyal Valley post office was established in 1868 with Solomon Wright as postmaster; the office was discontinued in 1919. The first school was started in 1870; later Phillip Buchmeyer (or Burchmeier) built a one-room stone structure, which was still standing in 1980. By the early 1900s Loyal Valley had a church, a school, and a number of stores. Cotton, cattle hides, and livestock were the main products of the area. Revival meetings were often held in a nearby brush arbor, and in 1908 the town organized its own baseball team, called the Loyal Lads.