Books by
Michael Barr
Order Here: |
|
In
1869 John Meusebach, founder of Fredericksburg
and friend of the Comanches, took up residence in a mesquite flat
near Cherry
Spring. He named the place Loyal
Valley, and it is one the oldest communities in what would become
Mason County. The
name was probably a reference to his loyalty to the Union during the
recent Civil War.
Loyal Valley
was located on the Pinta Trail - an historic path used by indigenous
people for centuries. Then beginning in the 1700s, explorers, conquistadores,
soldiers and settlers traveled the Pinta Trail from San
Antonio up into the high Hill
Country.
Not long after Meusebach came to Loyal
Valley, the place became a stop on the San
Antonio to El
Paso stage route. In a few years the town had several stores,
a post office, a livery stable, a saloon and a stone building that
served as a school and a church. Charlie Metcalfe built a hotel to
accommodate travelers. |
Former school
/ church in Loyal Valley
Photo courtesy Michael Barr, September 2016 |
| Meanwhile Meusebach,
now semi-retired, ran a store and served as justice of the peace.
He drilled a well near his home and built an outdoor Roman-style bathhouse.
The ruins are still there today. |
 |
But
the most remarkable feature of Loyal
Valley was Meusebach's nursery. Among his many talents, Meusebach
was an amateur horticulturalist, and he chose Loyal
Valley because he thought the site would be a good place to experiment
with scrubs, fruit trees and grape vines.
Meusebach saw something special in the dirt. While much of the Hill
Country is a thin layer of topsoil atop solid rock, the soil in
Loyal Valley
is a sandy loam with a red tint. And compared to the surrounding area,
the vegetation in Loyal
Valley looked especially healthy and abundant to a man with an
eye for such things.
Loyal Valley
was particularly good for grapes. While most places in Texas could
only grow native varieties, Meusebach was able to grow 14 varieties
of grapes from all over the world. A good argument can be made that
the roots of the Hill County Wine industry are in Meusebach's nursery
and his horticulture experiments.
The nursery was a garden in the wilderness. There were 60 varieties
of peach trees, 14 varieties of plums, and 32 varieties of pears in
the same enclosure. Meusebach also grew apples, cherries, figs, apricots
and pomegranates.
His crape myrtles were legendary. Flowers, too many to count, bloomed
in wonderful profusion. Of roses alone there were 215 varieties.
And certain trees, like pines and spruces, that didn't always grow
well in West Texas, thrived in Loyal
Valley. |
 |
John O. Meusebach
tombstone in the Marschall-Meusebach Cemetery
Photo courtesy Michael Barr, September 2016 |
Meusebach managed
his nursery with tender care until he died in 1897. He is buried in
a family plot near Cherry
Spring. But his work with plants showed the world just how diverse
and productive Hill
Country agriculture could be.
Loyal Valley was a thriving little community until the new highway
to Mason went around it. Today it is a quiet collection of country
homes, medium sized ranches - and a winery. |
|
Photo courtesy Michael Barr, September 2016 |
© Michael
Barr
"Hindsights" October
15, 2016 Column
Sources:
Mason County News, June 22, 1972, "The Story of Mason," p2.
Fredericksburg Standard, June 20, 1976, "Many Varieties of Fruit Trees,
Scrubs, and Flowers Grew at Loyal Valley," p8.
Mason County News, July 15, 1976, "Loyal Valley Was Once Larger Than
Mason," sec4, p9.
Mason County News, September 18, 1969, "Story of John Meusebach is
Recounted in Dallas Paper," p3. |
More about
John O. Meusebach:
|
|
|
HOME
