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Photographer's
Note:
The Montvale Cemetery and Marker are about three miles southeast of
Sterling City on US 87. - Barclay
Gibson |
Historical Marker:
Montvale
The community of
Montvale was established in 1884 when the pioneer settlement of St.
Elmo was relocated here. Then a part of Tom
Green County, Montvale was located on the Shafter Military Trail,
an early road from Fort Concho.
A community school, the earliest in the area, was in operation by
1886. Three years later the town was platted by H. B. Tarver, the
surveyor for Tom
Green County. It is believed the settlement was named for a nearby
hill referred to in Tarver's field notes as Mt. Vale.
Early businesses in Montvale included the saddle and harness shop
of R. B. Cummins and the general store and blacksmith shop of B. Z.
Cooper. The town was also the site of a Methodist church, a hotel,
a post office and a variety of stores. About 1889 R. B. Cummins started
the town of Cummins (5.4 miles northwest)
upriver from Montvale. Both settlements began to decline in 1891 with
the establishment of Sterling
City (3.5 miles northwest) as the seat of government for the newly
created Sterling County.
A community cemetery is all that remains of the townsite of Montvale,
a pioneer settlement that played an important role in the area's development. |
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Montvale Historical
Marker
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2009 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
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