HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Community of Concho

Paint Rock vicinity, Concho County, Texas

Marker Inscription

As settlers came to the area in the late 1800's, a small farming community developed here along the Concho River. In 1905 a post office opened in the home of W. D. Cape. In 1906 J. W. Barr (d. 1964) opened a general store at this site. As the business center for the surrounding rural area, the settlement was also the site of a school, two churches, a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, and a cemetery. Although the population had declined by the 1940's and the post office was closed in 1954, the site of the pioneer community serves as a reminder of the area's early settlers. (1983)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

As settlers filled the land along the Concho River in the late 1800s, a small farming community grew up here, gaining a post office in the home of W.D. Cape in 1905 and a general store opened by J.W. Barr in 1906. It served the surrounding countryside as a business center with a school, two churches, a cotton gin, a blacksmith shop, and a cemetery. Population declined by the 1940s, and the post office closed in 1954.

Why it matters

Concho stands for the countless small farm communities that once knit rural Texas together and quietly faded as roads, machines, and consolidation reshaped country life.

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Related people

  • ยท W.D. Cape
  • ยท J.W. Barr

Themes & tags

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