Double Mountains (Texas)

Double Mountains is the name of a pair of flat-topped buttes located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont in Stonewall County, Texas.[5] While the Handbook of Texas gives their elevation as either 2,000 ft (610 m)[6] or 2,400 ft (732 m),[5] United States Geological Survey maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2,523 ft (769 m) [7] and that of the eastern mountain as between 2,580 and 2,600 ft (786 and 792 m).[1][2] Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watersheds of the Salt Fork and Double Mountain Fork Brazos River.[8]

Double Mountains
Double Mountains, viewed from the south
Highest point
Elevation2580+ feet (786+ m) [1][2]
Prominence540 ft (160 m) [1]
Coordinates33°03′44″N 100°27′15″W [3]
Geography
Double Mountains
Double Mountains location in Texas
LocationStonewall County, Texas, U.S.
Parent rangePlains of Central Texas[1]
Topo mapUSGS Double Mountains
Geology
Age of rockCretaceous (Comanche Series)[4]
Mountain typeErosional remnant
Climbing
Easiest routeDrive/hike

Rising some 500–800 feet (150–250 m) above the surrounding plains,[2][6] the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County[5] and the most topographically prominent point for almost 160 miles (257 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott in Oklahoma.[9] As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible from a great distance, and feature commanding views from their tops.[2]

Their prominence has long made them important regional landmarks,[6] 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."[8] They were also cited by the surveying party of Randolph B. Marcy in 1849.[6]

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.[2]

At one time, Comanche leader Quanah Parker and his band lived on or near the mountains,[10] and according to one source, the mountains were once a sacred place to the Comanches.[11]

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 office, 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.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Double Mountains, Texas". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  2. "Stonewall County High Point Trip Report". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  3. "Double Mountains". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  4. Patton, L.T. 1930. The geology of Stonewall County, Texas. The University of Texas Bulletin No. 3027, 76 pp.
  5. "Handbook of Texas Online — Stonewall County". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  6. "Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  7. "Double Mountain (in Stonewall County Texas) Place Profile". Retrieved 2008-08-14.
  8. Hodge, Larry; Syers, Ed (2000). Backroads of Texas (4th ed.). Lanham, MD: Lone Star Books.
  9. "Prominence Ladder from Double Mountains". Retrieved 2015-01-18.
  10. "Quanah Parker - Biography of the Famous Leader". Retrieved 2008-08-22.
  11. "Brazos River Canyonlands - Double Mountain". Retrieved 2008-08-22.
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