Painted Caves facts for kids

Painted Caves was a special cave in Val Verde County, Texas. It had a natural spring inside. The cave was about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Comstock, Texas. It was a popular camping spot along the old San Antonio–El Paso Road. The cave got its name from the amazing cave paintings found there. These paintings were made by ancient people.

The cave was located near a stream called Painted Cave Spring Creek. This stream is now known as California Creek. Painted Caves was about 2.5 miles northwest of the First Crossing of Devils River. It was also about 15.7 miles southeast of California Spring. Sadly, the cave is now underwater. It was submerged when Lake Amistad was built in 1969.

History of Painted Caves

Early Discoveries and Descriptions

The Painted Caves were first described by travelers exploring the area. One of the first detailed accounts came from Robert A. Eccleston. He was part of a military group that opened the San Antonio–El Paso Road in 1849.

In his diary, on July 11, 1849, Eccleston wrote about finding the cave. He mentioned that after traveling through rocky land, they found water. He also said they visited some large caves. Inside these caves, they saw "Indian drawings." These drawings showed things like buffaloes and people. He noted that the drawings were colored.

These ancient paintings were created by a group of people known as the West Texas Cave Dwellers. They lived in West Texas for over 1,000 years. This was long before the Lipan Apache arrived in the area.

Changes Over Time

About 30 years later, in 1879, another traveler named Burr G. Duval visited the site. He wrote about it in his journal, "Journal of a Prospecting Trip to West Texas in 1879."

On January 9, 1879, Duval wrote about leaving Devils River. He described camping near a water hole on Painted Cave Spring Creek. He called Painted Cave a "noted camp and cave grotto." However, he noted a big change. The many beautiful Indian picture writings were no longer visible. Instead, he saw different kinds of writings. These included "S. T. 1860," "X Plantation Bitters," "Tutt's Pills," and "Sozodont." These were advertisements from that time. This shows how the area was changing as more people moved west.

Submergence of the Cave

The historic site of Painted Caves was permanently covered by water in 1969. This happened when the Lake Amistad was created. The lake was built to store water and control floods. This means the ancient paintings and the spring are now hidden beneath the lake's surface.