Loyal Valley

LOYAL VALLEY, TEXAS . Loyal Valley is a community just east of Interstate Highway 87 near Cold Spring Creek in a valley circled by low hills in the southeastern corner of Mason County. One of the oldest communities in the county, it was settled around 1858 by German settlers from the Fredericksburg area, including Henry and Christian Keyser, John Kidd, and a Mr. Gertsdorff. John O. Meusebach moved to Loyal Valley from Fredericksburg in 1869. He laid out the town, operated a store and nursery there, and later served as postmaster and as justice of the peace. He is also said to have built a Roman-style bathhouse, which was still standing in 1976. Some sources say that Meusebach gave the town its name because of the mutual cooperation and loyalty between the local settlers. Other sources say Meusebach chose the name to proclaim the loyalty of the area to the Union during the Civil War .