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
Elevation	2580+ feet (786+ m)[1][2]
Prominence	540 ft (160 m)[1]
Coordinates	33°03′44″N 100°27′15″W[3]
Geography
Double Mountains Double Mountains location in Texas
Location	Stonewall County, Texas, U.S.
Parent range	Plains of Central Texas[1]
Topo map	USGS Double Mountains
Geology
Age of rock	Cretaceous (Comanche Series)[4]
Mountain type	Erosional remnant
Climbing
Easiest route	Drive/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

External links

• Handbook of Texas Online — Double Mountain
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Double Mountains
• Public domain images of the Rolling Plains and West Texas