Paint Rock takes its name from the pictographs (SS33) discovered in cliffs above the Concho River. The mission of San Clemente was established here in 1684 but abandoned after a few months due to Apache raids. The Texas legislature formed Concho County in 1858, although Comanche and Lipán Apache bands controlled the area until 1874, when they were removed from the region. The county was organized in 1879 with Paint Rock as the county seat. Cotton cultivation and cattle ranching were the early mainstays of the local economy, later replaced by sheep ranching. Limited oil and gas production developed in the 1950s.
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