Pandale, Texas


Pandale is a ghost town in Val Verde County, Texas, United States. It is a small town whose current population is smaller than in some previous years. It has been noted as a starting point for canoeing expeditions.

Location and Population

Pandale is located in Val Verde County at the conjunction of Texas Ranch to Market Road 1024 and the Langtry-Pandale Rd., an unpaved caliche county road. It is located on the Pecos River. The town can also be reached from Interstate 10 via Texas Ranch to Market Road 2083, which becomes unpaved heading south at the Crockett/Val Verde County line. RM 2083 heads southwest from Ozona to the town of Pandale. The population in 2000 was 20. The permanent population has increased slightly due to ranch subdivisions and consists mainly of retirees. However, during the annual November to January deer hunting season, there is a huge influx of hunters, the vast majority of whom own hunting leases on small tracts of private property, usually consisting of raised hunting blinds located in close proximity to stocked, timed release corn and protein feeders.

History

Prehistoric people lived in the area and left relics, such as arrowheads, one of which is called a “Pandale”. The name of Pandale originates from its pan-like shape location in a valley. The town began as a settlement where a crossing was established on the Pecos River. Around 1928, the town became a ranching community. There was once a school in the town but it closed when the school district was consolidated with the Comstock Independent School District in 1969. There is currently one small general store open part-time, and a cabin lodge near the Pecos River crossing, called Pandale Crossing River Resort. There is no longer a post office in the town.
Structures in Pandale consist of a two-story stone house once owned by Henry James Young Mills, an out building that was formerly a garage and general store, also owned by the Mills family and a single room school house which was also used for Sunday school.

Canoeing

Pandale is a frequented area to begin a canoeing journey down the Pecos River. The journey requires preparedness and good physical conditioning.