Juno

JUNO, TEXAS . Juno is on Farm Road 189 and the Devils River a half mile southwest of Cully Draw in north central Val Verde County. As early as 1849 the United States Army stationed soldiers at Beaver Lake, three miles northeast of the Juno site, to protect thirsty travelers from Indian attack. The natural lake served as a landmark. By the 1880s the community, the second oldest settlement in the county, was a ranching supply center. The Edmondsons built a rock building for their general store, and Henry Stein operated a cafe that sold only frijoles and beer. The story goes that since all the customers knew about the menu, when Stein was asked about the offerings he answered, "Ju know." When application for a post office was made in 1885, Stein's reply was supposedly written as Juno and used as the official name. In June 1899 the townsite of 29.58 acres was surveyed, and fifty lots were laid out. J. T. Drisdale and his family settled there that year. T. L. Drisdale, son of J. T., took over the management of his father's ranch in 1901 and married Dulcie Rabb, who was a strong booster of Juno. She put up a sign on the edge of town that read "Pull for Juno or pull out." By 1901 the town had segregated schools that operated in the same building. The white school had one teacher and an enrollment of eighty-eight; the part-time black school had one teacher and an enrollment of twenty-nine. From 1901 to 1925 Juno continued to grow. A hotel and a land office were opened. The community had telephone and stage service. The Cadena family ran the blacksmith shop, and George Deaton drove the stage. From 1925 through 1962 Juno reported a population of seventy-five. That number rose to eighty in 1964 but declined to fifty by 1966. From 1968 to 2000 a population of ten was reported. For most of the years from 1931 until 1984 Juno reported one business. The post office closed in 1975, and the last reported business had closed by 1984.