Double Mountain (Texas)
Encyclopedia
Double Mountain is the name of a pair of flat-topped butte
s located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont
in Stonewall County, Texas
. While the Handbook of Texas
gives their elevation as either 2000 ft (610 m) or 2400 ft (732 m), United States Geological Survey
maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2523 ft (769 m) and that of the eastern mountain as between 2580 ft (786 m) and 2600 ft (792 m). Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watershed
s of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
.
Rising some 500–800 feet (150–250 m) above the surrounding plains, the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County and the most topographically prominent
point for almost 160 miles (257 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott
in Oklahoma
. As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible from a great distance, and feature commanding views from their tops.
Their prominence has long made them important regional landmarks, dating back at least to 1788, when Jose Mares opened a trail from San Antonio to Santa Fe; thereafter, the mountains were waymarkers "for every westward expedition and a rendezvous for buffalo
hunters." They were also cited by the surveying party of Randolph B. Marcy
in 1849.
Although paved roads do not lead directly to the mountains, they are accessible via paved Farm to Market Roads 2211 and 610 and dirt county roads; a steep dirt road leads up to the summit of each of the pair of mountains. A prominent radio tower stands on the eastern summit.
At one time, Comanche
leader Quanah Parker
and his band lived on or near the mountains, and according to one source, the mountains were once a sacred place to the Comanches.
, sheriff
, schoolhouse, and Methodist
and Baptist
churches for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but had become a ghost town
by the 1980s.
Butte
A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and table landform tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill...
s located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont
Aspermont, Texas
Aspermont is a town in and the county seat of Stonewall County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,021 at the 2000 census. Aspermont means "rough mountain" in Latin....
in Stonewall County, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. While the Handbook of Texas
Handbook of Texas
The Handbook of Texas is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association .-History:...
gives their elevation as either 2000 ft (610 m) or 2400 ft (732 m), United States Geological Survey
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization has four major science disciplines, concerning biology,...
maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2523 ft (769 m) and that of the eastern mountain as between 2580 ft (786 m) and 2600 ft (792 m). Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
Double Mountain Fork Brazos River
The Double Mountain Fork Brazos River is an ephemeral, sandy-braided stream about long, heading on the Llano Estacado of West Texas about southeast of Tahoka, Texas, flowing east-northeast across the western Rolling Plains to join the Salt Fork, forming the Brazos River about west-northwest of...
.
Rising some 500–800 feet (150–250 m) above the surrounding plains, the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County and the most topographically prominent
Topographic prominence
In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop , or prime factor , categorizes the height of the mountain's or hill's summit by the elevation between it and the lowest contour line encircling it and no higher summit...
point for almost 160 miles (257 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott
Mount Scott (Oklahoma)
Mount Scott is a prominent mountain just to the northwest of Lawton Oklahoma rising to a height of above sea level. It is located in the Wichita Mountains near Fort Sill Military Reservation and lies in the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge. The US Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible...
in Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible from a great distance, and feature commanding views from their tops.
Their prominence has long made them important regional landmarks, dating back at least to 1788, when Jose Mares opened a trail from San Antonio to Santa Fe; thereafter, the mountains were waymarkers "for every westward expedition and a rendezvous for buffalo
American Bison
The American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
hunters." They were also cited by the surveying party of Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph Barnes Marcy was a career officer in the United States Army, achieving the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1881. Although beginning in 1861 his responsibilities were those of a brigadier general, the U.S...
in 1849.
Although paved roads do not lead directly to the mountains, they are accessible via paved Farm to Market Roads 2211 and 610 and dirt county roads; a steep dirt road leads up to the summit of each of the pair of mountains. A prominent radio tower stands on the eastern summit.
At one time, Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
leader Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker
Quanah Parker was a Comanche chief, a leader in the Native American Church, and the last leader of the powerful Quahadi band before they surrendered their battle of the Great Plains and went to a reservation in Indian Territory...
and his band lived on or near the mountains, and according to one source, the mountains were once a sacred place to the Comanches.
Town of Double Mountain
A town of Double Mountain once existed a few miles north of the hills. Established in 1886, the community featured a post officePost office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
, schoolhouse, and Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
and Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
churches for several years in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but had become a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
by the 1980s.
See also
- Geography of TexasGeography of TexasThe geography of Texas is diverse and far reaching in scope. Occupying about 7% of the total water and land area of the U.S., it is the second largest state after Alaska, and is the southernmost part of the Great Plains, which end in the south against the folded Sierra Madre Oriental of Mexico...
- Geology of TexasGeology of TexasTexas contains a great variety of geologic settings. The state's stratigraphy has been largely influenced by marine transgressive-regressive cycles during the Phanerozoic, with a lesser but still significant contribution from late Cenozoic tectonic activity, as well as the remnants of a Paleozoic...
- Brazos RiverBrazos RiverThe Brazos River, called the Rio de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers , is the longest river in Texas and the 11th longest river in the United States at from its source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Curry County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a drainage...
- Double Mountain Fork Brazos RiverDouble Mountain Fork Brazos RiverThe Double Mountain Fork Brazos River is an ephemeral, sandy-braided stream about long, heading on the Llano Estacado of West Texas about southeast of Tahoka, Texas, flowing east-northeast across the western Rolling Plains to join the Salt Fork, forming the Brazos River about west-northwest of...
- Rath City, TexasRath City, TexasRath City was a frontier town which existed for less than five years and is presently a ghost town. The town was located on the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River fourteen miles northwest of Hamlin in southern Stonewall County, Texas, United States.-History:...
- Yellow House CanyonYellow House CanyonYellow House Canyon is a canyon that is about long, heading in Lubbock, Texas, at the junction of Blackwater Draw and Yellow House Draw, and trending generally southeastward to the edge of the Llano Estacado about east of Slaton, Texas; it forms one of three major canyons along the east side of...
- Blanco CanyonBlanco CanyonBlanco Canyon is a canyon located in the U.S. state of Texas. Eroded by the White River into the Caprock Escarpment on the east side of the Llano Estacado, the canyon runs for in a southeasterly direction, gradually widening from its beginning in southwestern Floyd County to across at its mouth...