FRIO COUNTY’S HISTORY: TIMES OF DISCOVERY and CHANGE

By Editor | February 25, 2026

26th annual Pioneer Day set for Saturday, March 21, in Pearsall

By Mona Hoyle
The Frio Pioneer Museum Association will host its 26th annual Pioneer Day celebration on the grounds of the Frio Jail Museum in Pearsall on Saturday, March 21.

It is the goal of the association that the event serve as a reintroduction to the community and area of the colorful aspects of the county’s early life and times.

Looking back on the settlement of our area of South Texas, we find that Cabeza de Vaca was no doubt the first white man to set foot in what is now Frio County, as he roamed the region on his raiding expeditions when he was a slave of the coastal Native Americans.

When his group crossed the Frio River in September or October 1535, de Vaca described it as a land of good grass and fertile soil.

In 1714, St. Denis traveled on the Presidio Road, the route most used in the building of the San Antonio missions. The Presidio Road crossed the northwest corner of the county. General Santa Anna and his army camped at this Frio River crossing on his march to the Alamo in 1836.

This road is also known as El Camino Real and The Old San Antonio Road. The Presidio Crossing is in sight of Frio Town, the first county seat of Frio and once called “Cowboy Capital of the World.”

Frio was named for the cold nature of its river and the canyon through which it runs. The area was a treeless grass prairie, where the only trees in the area grew along the creeks. Because there were no trees, the Native Americans had no ties to the area and only crossed in their migration while following game to hunt. Thousands of wild mustangs were running everywhere across the state at that time. Longhorn cattle were as wild as the horses.

The most notable Indian fighter was William Alexander Anderson Wallace, who was known as Bigfoot because he once killed a native horse thief whose moccasins measured a rare 16 inches in length. His friends, however, called him Cap’n Wallace, never Bigfoot.

He was a descendant of Scottish heroes William Wallace and Robert Bruce. He was an expert tracker and a life time Texas Ranger, mail carrier, one-time Mier Expedition prisoner, soldier in the Texas, Civil and Mexican wars and was renowned as a great storyteller.

In early 1865, a settlement in the northeast corner of the county was known as Connally’s Store but when a post office was secured it was given the name of Bigfoot. Nearby is Brummett Cemetery, the oldest in the county, dating back to 1860. Frio City was laid out in 1871. A stone jail was built in 1872 and was sometime home to Sam Bass and Frank and Jesse James for minor crimes.

Early settlers suffered many Indian raids, most by the Lipan and Coahuiltecans. People were killed and horses were stolen during those raids.

In 1880, the Illinois & Great Western Railroad extended a line from San Antonio to Laredo and asked Frio City for the right of way. None was given, so the railroad bought a league of land and sold lots for a new town that was to be named after Thomas W. Pearsall, an official with the railroad. At first, local residents knew it as New Frio City; it was also known as Windmill City, since each house had its own windmill.

Eventually, residents of Frio City tore down their houses, loaded them onto log wagons and transplanted their town to be closer to the railroad.

Pearsall subsequently became the county seat, and Frio City was hereafter known as Frio Town, but it was no longer a town. Ruins of the stone courthouse and jail are all that remain today.

Dilley was first called Darlington but was renamed in honor of a railroad official, George Dilley. Moore was a settlement for at least nine years before it had a post office; it was named Moore’s Station in 1882 for Mustang Moore, who was killed by Indians. It was also called Moore Hollow.

A thriving community on a natural lake was called Todos Santos, had a school, general store and a saloon; it was in mustang country. Today, it is completely gone, including the lake, which turned to sand.

Irrigation became a promising help to agriculture. A community on the Leona River was known as Bennett Settlement and was using irrigation in raising crops. A dam and canal were almost finished when a flood washed the dam completely away. Irrigation from the Carrizo Sands is used all over the county today.

Schools were established in each community, but in the early days school lasted only a few weeks. In the late 1920’s, schools began to consolidate and Pearsall had the largest consolidated district in the nation. Lyndon Baines Johnson taught in Pearsall for three weeks. His salary was $68.

Many communities sprang up in Frio County and tried to grow, but few survived. Post offices were established in Bernice, Marks, Music, Reep, Tio, Howard Lake, Live Oak, Shallow Wells, Taylor, Pearsall, Bigfoot, Maney, Moore, Dilley and Tehuacana.

The official medallion placed in 1970 on the Old Frio County Jail reads as follows: “Oldest building in town, built in 1884. Used as a jail and a jailer’s residence until 1968. Second story and part of the first floor housed jail. Two separate cells were added in 1883 for females or juvenile prisoners or for the insane. For years, a well on premise supplied water. During prohibition in early 20th century, confiscated bootleg liquor was stored by law officers in one of the cells.”

The old jail reopened as a museum during the nation’s Bicentennial celebration in 1976, and is the centerpiece of the annual Pioneer Day celebration.

A celebration of the county’s early beginnings, early settlers and pioneers, Pioneer Day will also celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday on Saturday, March 21. The event will include storytellers, music, chuck wagon cooking, food, crafts, a live and silent auction and family fun time with a kids’ cook-off, washer-pitching tournament and other activities.