Before this Dam_Mountain Valley
Mico, Medina County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Before this dam was built there existed above this site a settlement known as Mountain Valley. Established in 1854 by 16 families of Mormons under the leadership of Lyman Wight (1796-1858). They abandoned their homes and mills in 1858 as the result of Indian depredations. Their lands are now beneath the waters of Medina Lake. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1854 sixteen Mormon families led by Lyman Wight founded a settlement called Mountain Valley along the Medina River, building homes and mills in the Texas Hill Country. Pressed by conflict with Native raiders, they abandoned the community in 1858, and its lands were later submerged beneath the waters of Medina Lake. Today the drowned townsite lies hidden above this dam.
Why it matters
Mountain Valley preserves the little-known story of a breakaway Mormon colony on the Texas frontier, a settlement erased twice over—by conflict and then by a reservoir.
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Related people
- · Lyman Wight
Themes & tags
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