Paint Rock

Paint Rock, the county seat of Concho County, is in the north central part of the county at the junction of Ranch Road 380 and U.S. Highway 83, about twenty-one miles northeast of Eden. The town was named for the extensive Indian pictographs about a mile away on the bluffs of the Concho River (see INDIAN ROCK ART). County commissioners, selecting a site for the county seat in July 1879, chose a location just west of the junction of the Concho River and Hog Creek. The site was at one of the few good fords on the river, which carried more water at that time than it did in the 1990s. Despite an initial error that led to the construction of the first buildings on the wrong survey, which necessitated their removal to a site about a half mile to the east, Paint Rock grew steadily. By 1884 it had become a shipping center for wool, hides, pecans, and mutton.

Adapted from the official Handbook of Texas, a state encyclopedia developed by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). It is an authoritative source of trusted historical records.