Comstock, Texas Explained

Official Name:Comstock, Texas
Settlement Type:Unincorporated community
Pushpin Map:Texas
Pushpin Map Caption:Location within Texas
Pushpin Relief:y
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Texas
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Val Verde
Unit Pref:Imperial
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation M:472
Elevation Ft:1549
Coordinates:29.6844°N -101.1733°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:78837
Area Code Type:Area code
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID

Comstock is an unincorporated community located in Val Verde County, Texas, United States, approximately 20 miles northwest of Del Rio on U.S. 90. It is the town nearest to Seminole Canyon, which has been a site of human habitation for 9,000 years. In 2010, Comstock had a population of 475 residents.

History

Comstock was founded circa 1883 on the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway as the line drove west toward El Paso. Although first platted as Sotol City, it was later named for John Comstock, a railroad dispatcher.

The town was located near a natural lake, which was used for the town's water supply, but which today is only intermittent. The town was granted a post office in 1888, but its remote location and limited resources kept the town from growing quickly. Comstock was at the height of its activity between 1888 and 1910, when the Deaton Stage Line operated between the town's railroad depot and the city of Ozona, some 60 mi (100 km) north. The depot at Comstock did not long outlast the stagecoach line, and although the names on the businesses have changed, little has changed in the town in 70 years.

Amtrak’s Sunset Limited passes through the town on Union Pacific tracks, but makes no stop. A stop is located 30 miles to the south in Del Rio.

Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site

Seminole Canyon State Park and Historic Site has cave drawings and other evidence of settlement dating from the early Archaic period, around 7000 BC. Later remains include stone circles and cairns of the late Prehistoric, and even 19th-century remains from the construction of the Southern Pacific, one of the nation's first transcontinental railroads.

Education

Comstock is served by the Comstock Independent School District.

The whole county is served by Southwest Texas Junior College according to the Texas Education Code.[1]

Notes and References

  1. https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/ED/htm/ED.130.htm Texas Education Code: Sec. 130.200. SOUTHWEST TEXAS JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT SERVICE AREA.