Double Mountain (Texas).html |
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| Double Mountain | |
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 Double Mountain as seen from the north |
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  Double Mountain
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| Elevation | 2,580 feet (790 m)+ 12 |
| Location | Stonewall County, Texas, USA |
| Range | Plains of Central Texas2 |
| Prominence | c. 560 feet (170 m); less than 824 feet (251 m)3 |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Easiest route | Drive/hike |
Double Mountain is the name given to a pair of flat-topped, mesa-like hills located 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Aspermont in Stonewall County, Texas.4 While the Handbook of Texas gives their elevation as either 20005 or 2400 ft,4 United States Geological Survey maps give the elevation of the western mountain as 2,523 feet (769 m) 6 and that of the eastern mountain as between 2580 and 2600 ft.12 Together, the mountains form part of the high ground dividing the watersheds of the Salt and Double Mountain Forks of the Brazos River.7
Rising some 500–600 feet above the surrounding plains,15 the higher eastern mountain is the highest point in Stonewall County4 and the most topographically prominent point for almost 160 miles (260 km), the nearest more prominent peak being Mount Scott in Oklahoma.3 As such an isolated geographical feature, the mountains are visible from many miles away, and feature commanding views from their tops.1
Their prominence has long made them important regional landmarks,5 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 rendevous for buffalo hunters."7 They were also cited by the surveying party of Randolph B. Marcy in 1849.5
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.1
At one time, Comanche leader Quanah Parker and his band lived on or near the mountains,8 and according to one source, the mountains were once a sacred place to the Comanches.9
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.10
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Stonewall County High Point Trip Report". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b c "Double Mountains — Peakbagger.com". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b "Prominence Ladder from Double Mountains". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b c "Handbook of Texas Online — Stonewall County". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b c d "Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ "Double Mountain (in Stonewall County Texas) Place Profile". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.
- ^ a b Hodge, Larry; Syers, Ed (2000), Backroads of Texas (4th ed.), Lanham, MD: Lone Star Books
- ^ "Quanah Parker - Biography of the Famous Leader". Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Brazos River Canyonlands - Double Mountain". Retrieved on 2008-08-22.
- ^ "Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain, TX". Retrieved on 2008-08-14.