- Get Involved
SEMINOLE CANYON STATE HISTORICAL PARK
SEMINOLE CANYON STATE HISTORICAL PARK. Seminole Canyon State Historical Park is on U.S. Highway 90 nine miles west of Comstock in Val Verde County. The rugged 2,172.5-acre park features deep canyons, including Seminole Canyon, evidently named after the Indian scouts from Fort Clark located seventy miles to the east. In many of the canyons, erosion over millions of years has carved massive rock overhangs that were used by prehistoric Indians for shelter. Among the park's most noteworthy attractions are numerous pictographs made by these early inhabitants between 2,000 and 8,000 years ago. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department purchased 1,500 acres of land in 1974 and an additional 700 acres in 1977. The park opened in 1980. Seminole Canyon lies near the juncture of the major vegetation zones, the Trans-Pecos, the Edwards Plateau, and the South Texas brush country. As a result, the area contains an unusually varied range of plant and animal life, including rare bird species such as the zone-tailed hawk, green kingfisher, black phoebe, and varied bunting. Facilities include restrooms, hiking trails, and camping and picnicking areas. Park rangers conduct guided tours to Fate Bell Shelter to view Indian pictographs. In May 1994 a seventeen-foot bronze sculpture made by Bill Worrell was erected at Seminole Canyon State Historical Park. The sculpture depicts a shaman-like figure and honors the legacy of ancient Indian rock art.
Austin American-Statesman, June 11, 1994. Ray Miller, Texas Parks (Houston: Cordovan, 1984). Texas Parks and Wildlife, August 1992.
Image Use Disclaimer
All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 related to Copyright and “Fair Use” for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. The TSHA makes every effort to conform to the principles of fair use and to comply with copyright law.
For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.Handbook of Texas Online, Christopher Long, "SEMINOLE CANYON STATE HISTORICAL PARK," accessed May 19, 2019, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/gks08.
Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on April 30, 2018. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.