Castle Mountain (Crane and Upton Counties)

Type: General Entry

Published: 1952

Updated: December 1, 1994

Castle Mountain, on the Crane-Upton county line six miles south of Crane (at 31°18' N, 102°17' W), reaches an elevation of 3,151 feet at its summit. The mountain received its name from early Spanish explorers who thought it resembled a castle. It is composed of limestone and calcareous clay mud substrate with shallow, dark clay soil. Juniper, oak, grasses, chaparral, and cacti grow on it. Castle Gap divides Castle Mountain and is a landmark and spring-fed watering place that has been used by travelers for centuries. In 1968 a 100-acre park at Castle Gap was given to Upton County by the family of Caton Jacobs, owner of the property since the 1930s.

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Claude W. Dooley, comp., Why Stop? (Odessa: Lone Star Legends, 1978; 2d ed., with Betty Dooley and the Texas Historical Commission, Houston: Lone Star, 1985). Clayton W. Williams, Never Again, Texas (3 vols., San Antonio: Naylor, 1969).

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.

Anonymous, “Castle Mountain (Crane and Upton Counties),” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed May 24, 2022, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/castle-mountain-crane-and-upton-counties.

Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

Original Publication Date:: 1952
Most Recent Revision Date:: December 1, 1994

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