Enchanted Rock
Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas
Marker Inscription
From its summit, in the fall of 1841, Captain John C. Hays, while surrounded by Comanche Indians who cut him off from his ranging company, repulsed the whole band and inflicted upon them such heavy losses that they fled. Marked by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the fall of 1841, Texas Ranger captain John C. Hays was reportedly cut off from his company atop Enchanted Rock and surrounded by Comanche warriors. According to the account preserved on this 1936 marker, he held them off from the granite summit, inflicting heavy losses until the band withdrew. The story became one of the enduring legends of Republic-era ranging on the Texas frontier.
Why it matters
The Enchanted Rock legend crystallizes the violent contest between the Republic of Texas and the Comanche for control of the Hill Country—and the outsized folklore that grew up around the early Texas Rangers.
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Related people
- · Capt. John C. Hays
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Nearby & related markers
Nine Miles West is the Enchanted Rock
Llano, TX
In the fall of 1841, Texas Ranger captain John C. Hays was cut off from his company atop Enchanted Rock and surrounded by Comanche warriors, yet from the granite summit he held them off until they withdrew. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936 to commemorate the celebrated frontier fight. The great pink granite dome had long been a landmark and sacred place for Indigenous peoples before it entered Anglo-Texan legend.
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