Pandale

Pandale is on Howard Draw and Farm Road 2083, two miles northeast of the Pecos River in northwestern Val Verde County. It is located in a small pan-shaped valley or dale, which gives the community its name. The earliest inhabitants of the area were prehistoric people who lived in nearby canyon caves and left many arrow points; one such point is named for Pandale. The town began as a crossing on the Pecos River. Pandale and its post office, which was opened in 1909, were located in six different places over the years. Before 1928 local settlers acquired large landholdings, making Pandale a prosperous ranching community. Residents established a public school system that enabled students to attend a local school rather than boarding or ranch schools. A Sunday school was started in November 1928 by the Reverend Petty of Comstock; the group continued to meet through the 1980s. In 1945 Pandale had a store, a school, a teacherage, and a service station. Its public school closed in 1969, when residents voted to consolidate with the Comstock district. The school building was sold to the Pandale Community Center, where the Sunday school, study club, and other organizations met. The last reported business at the community shut down in 1973, and the post office closed in 1977. From the late 1930s through 2000 the community reported a population of twenty.