Trailing the Deaton Stage Line and Mail Route

Ozona—When Crockett County was created on Jan. 22, 1875, at the ‘front porch’ of the Chihuahuan Desert, it comprised an area of some 10,000 square miles. The Comanche, Apache, Kiowa had been moved from the area less than a year earlier to the reservations in Oklahoma.

Seminole Canyon, in the southwestern corner of Dry River County about nine miles from Comstock, hosts some of the best-preserved pictographs or cave paintings in the world. They depict massive wall paintings of people, deer, antlers, catfish, panthers, and paintings illustrating events in the lives and cultures of the various inhabitants who lived in the

Trans-Pecos region as early as 14,000 years prior to European settlement.

In 1888, technological advancements were beginning to accelerate, water well drilling technology had progressed to fill the demand, and the first water wells were being drilled to provide water for Dry River Country ranchers and settlers. This was especially fortunate for those in Comstock, Juno, and Ozona, which was quickly becoming an area that appealed to those involved in the sheep, goat, and cattle industries.

At that time Comstock consisted of three major businesses: the Ames General Store, the Phillips Hotel, and the Deaton Stage Line and Mail Route. Juno ranchman, George K. Deaton had begun a stage line, freight service, and a mail route between Juno, a ranching supply settlement, and Comstock. Deaton began the stage line with a six-horse Concord three-seater hack in daily service between Juno and Comstock. Travelers with overnight layovers in Comstock received the hospitality of Phillips Hotel and when the D.C. Denny Lumber Yard was established in 1890, Deaton was able to better supply the folks near Juno, outlying ranches, and the fledgling settlements of Emerald and Powell’s Well (Ozona).

Ozona had not yet been founded and was referred to as Powell’s Well. It was founded in 1891, and the name changed to Ozona at that time to reflect the perceived high quality of its breathable air, or “ozone.” Located nine miles to the east, near where present-day Crockett Heights is situated, the town of Emerald was little more than a well with a windmill, a schoolhouse, store, and a few residential buildings. The Emerald post office was established in 1890 but all was abandoned by 1897 after Ozona was elected as the Crockett

County seat of government. Couch Well, or Eureka was also a contender.

While everything profitable seemed to be pointing to bustling livestock industries, Mr. Deaton’s weekly freight wagon service was a godsend. A whole new frontier began to emerge as the newest drilling technologies created viable water wells that made water more available to the wildlife, ranches, and livestock. By the Spring of 1892, two train-loads of wool were shipped out of Comstock and the marketplace was expecting more than 30,000 head of sheep from the area.

“The Southern Pacific company stated in 1892 that they would build additional accommodations for mutton shipments from Comstock and proposed erecting a wool warehouse in expectation of handling about 700,000 pounds of wool,” recalls Fred Deaton, George’s grandson.

When Ozona became the official Crockett County seat, a postmaster was appointed, and George Deaton was awarded the “Star Route” mail delivery contract from Ozona to Comstock. George would tell you that mail delivery was a difficult chore in those first couple of years until a better road was built.

The San Angelo Standard Times on Feb 25, 1893, reported: “A road has just been finished from Comstock to Ozona, a distance of eighty-five miles. The Comstock people put up $100 and the San Antonio merchants did the rest. The road cost about $500 and is said to be a model country road.”

The Deaton Stage Line and Mail Route was extended to Ozona that same year with regular daily service. They traded in their heavy Concord Coaches to the three-seater hacks (an abbreviation of the brand, Hackney), a type of horse-drawn carriage and this new and improved route required the draft horses to be changed at twenty-mile intervals.

Be sure to catch part two of this story next week…