Metcalf Gap

Metcalf Gap was near the junction of U.S. Highway 180 and State Highway 16 in Palo Pinto County. The community was named for J. J. Metcalf, who with his son William established ranch headquarters in the vicinity in 1856. The pass that leads through the scenic hills west of town still carries the Metcalf name. Metcalf was also an early-day surveyor, surveying the townsite Golconda, the new county seat, and laying off the first roads from the county seat toward Fort Belknap. When Metcalf Gap was established, it was the outpost of settlements in the area. The community continued to serve ranchers in this stock-raising area; in 1940 Metcalf Gap consisted of a store, a school, and a population of forty. In the mid-1950s Metcalf Gap had one business and a population of forty. Its population continued to be reported at that level until the mid-1960s, after which no further statistics were available.