Its More Populated Out Here in West Texas Than You Can Imagine

In this view of Reagan County looking eastward down Hwy 67 from the Hodge Ranch entrance, about 5 miles west of Big Lake, you overlook the unnamed draw just ahead where the U. S. Military Telegraph Line from Fort Concho (San Angelo) crossed from left to right on its way to Grierson's Spring. This draw and telegraph route crossing  is on the Hodge Ranch, the family ranch which I now operate. 

The spring, lying in the southwest part of Reagan County, went undiscovered by the Army until the winter of 1877-78, when they were informed of its existence by hunters that had stumbled upon it and a subsequent scouting expedition confirmed that report.    Col. Benjamin Grierson, the then-commanding officer of Fort Concho and administrator of the newly-formed District of the Pecos, on being informed of the discovery of the spring, immediately recognized its significance and ordered extensive construction of a subpost at that location,  with numerous buildings and a telegraph maintenence office.  

In the spring of 1879, Signal Corps officers, directing Buffalo soldiers from the 10th U. S. Cavalry's Regimental HQ at Ft. Concho, laid out a new road, and the telegraph line was moved from its former route on the old Butterfield Trail  alongCentralia Draw in northern Reagan County, to run directly across the plains from Camp Charlotte, on the Middle Concho River, northeast of Big Lake, to Grierson's Spring, and from there on across to Camp Melvin on the Pecos River, northwest of present-day Iraan,  to Fts. Stockton and Davis. 

This move cut 15 miles from the previous telegraph line to Ft. Stockton and provided more effective line maintenance from the Grierson location, instead of having all repairs come from either Fts. Concho or Stockton.   The telegraph line played a prominent and  important role in allowing Col. Grierson to communicate with and quickly dispatch his troops of the 9th and 10th U. S. Cavalry to cover water holes in West Texas in the Indian Campaigns of 1877-80, pursuing  Victorio, the great Warm Springs Apache war chief.  This rapid communication and the increased reliability of the well-maintained line greatly assisted the Army to occupy the water holes and springs in a timely manner, allowing them to drive Victorio and his followers into Mexico, where he was finally killed by Mexican volunteers under the command of Col. Joaquin Terrazas.   

Although the telegraph line was abandoned in 1882, the military road accompanying it came to later use as a stage line and became an important road used by travellers in the settlement of this area.   In spite of  their past importance, the line and the road lie almost completely forgotten and are virtually unknown today by residents of this area; but the trail and artifacts from it and the old telegraph line are still visible to the trained eye in many places along the route.