Vanished outpost on Devils River Frontier

Val Verde County—In the remote canyonlands of northern Val Verde County, Beaver Lake once shimmered as a rare and vital oasis along the upper Devils River.

Formed by beaver dams, the natural reservoir lay about three miles northeast of what would later become the ghost town of Juno. Surrounded by steep limestone canyons dotted with juniper, mesquite, sparse oaks and native grasses, the lake provided life-sustaining water in an otherwise unforgiving landscape. For thousands of years, people were drawn to its banks. In 1849, it briefly became the site of a U.S. Army outpost tasked with protecting travelers pushing west.

An ancient and contested waterway

The Devils River corridor has long been a contested frontier. Archaeological evidence shows prehistoric peoples occupied the region as early as 11,000 years ago, leaving behind artifacts in nearby caves and rock shelters.

In historic times, Jumano tribes camped and hunted along the river, followed by Comanche and Kiowa nomads who relied on Beaver Lake as a watering hole and seasonal campsite. Competition over scarce water often led to conflict, and Comanche lodges were documented in the area well into the mid-19th century.

Spanish explorers ventured into the region only sporadically. In 1590, Gaspar Castaño de Sosa referred to the river as Rio Laxas, meaning “feeble” or “slack.” Later expeditions described the terrain as Sierra Dacate, and the river was eventually called San Pedro. The name “Devils River” emerged in the 1840s, reportedly coined by Texas Ranger John Coffee “Jack” Hays, who found the deep, forbidding canyons devilish.

Opening the road west

Before 1849, European settlement avoided the upper Devils River. Resistance from Comanche, Kiowa and Apache groups made the region too dangerous for major travel routes, and most trails from San Antonio to the Rio Grande or El Paso bypassed the headwaters entirely.

That changed with the California Gold Rush and the conclusion of the Mexican-American War. Seeking reliable routes to the Pacific, the U.S. Army began surveying new roads across Texas. In early 1849, Lt. William Henry Chase Whiting and Lt. William Smith led an expedition to map what became known as the San Antonio–El Paso Road.

During the survey, the officers documented Beaver Lake, recognizing its strategic importance as a dependable water source amid miles of arid terrain.

Soldiers at the water’s edge

Civilian accounts from the same year add detail to the lake’s brief moment of prominence. Robert A. Eccleston, a Forty-niner traveling with a military party, camped near Beaver Lake from July 23–26, 1849. In his diary, he described it as “a pretty little lake” with steep banks and a nearby beaver dam. Eccleston and his brother fished successfully for catfish, though they saw no live beavers.

By late 1849, growing concerns over attacks prompted the Army to station small detachments at key water sources. Beaver Lake became one such post. Likely manned by infantry or dragoons, the outpost’s mission was simple but critical: protect emigrants, freighters and settlers moving along the emerging wagon routes from raids and ambushes.

This was not a permanent installation. Unlike Camp Hudson, established in 1857 about 19 miles south to guard the same corridor, the Beaver Lake post was temporary and rotational, focused solely on guarding the water and assisting travelers. Frontier records rarely mention individual soldiers, and no unit rosters are known to survive.

From military post to ranching landmark

Even after the soldiers left, Beaver Lake remained important. In the 1850s, expeditions continued to pass through, sometimes finding abandoned Comanche lodges nearby. Before railroads reached South Texas, cattle drives from Laredo to central and northern Texas stopped at the lake to water herds.

By the 1880s, local ranchers gathered there for branding. Pioneer families such as the Hurman Benteleys settled nearby, followed by the Deatons, who later operated a stage and freight line from Ozona to Comstock. Juno emerged as a modest ranching supply point, gaining a post office in 1885, though the Army outpost predated the town by decades.

Legend on the Devils River

The Devils River’s isolation also bred legend. The most enduring tale is that of the “Lobo Girl of the Devil’s River,” a story set near Beaver Lake in the 1830s and 1840s.

According to folklore, trapper John Dent and his wife, Mollie, came to the area seeking beaver pelts. During a storm in 1835, Mollie gave birth and died under mysterious circumstances. Dent was reportedly killed by lightning while seeking help, leaving the infant orphaned.

The girl was said to have survived, raised by wolves. Later sightings described a feral young woman running on all fours and roaming the upper Devils River basin. Though popularized in 20th-century accounts and newspapers, historians view the story as legend rather than documented fact.

A landscape reclaimed

By the mid-20th century, Beaver Lake itself had disappeared. Overgrazing stripped vegetation from surrounding hills, allowing floods to deposit gravel and silt into the basin. By the 1950s, the lake had become an intermittent depression.

Today, the site lies on private ranch land, rugged and inaccessible, with no visible trace of the 1849 outpost. Juno has faded into ghost-town status, its post office closed in 1975 and its population reduced to only a few residents.

The outpost at Beaver Lake was brief, but its story reflects a pivotal moment in Texas history — where ancient gathering places, westward expansion and enduring myth converged along the unforgiving Devils River.