Junction is named for its location at the meeting of the North and South Llano Rivers, and the abundance of springs and streams among the hills around Junction gave rise to the area’s nickname, "The Land of Living Waters." At the same time, the rugged terrain and the vast expanses to the west of Junction have led many to call the town "Front Porch of the West." This is the place where the Hill Country meets West Texas, and the town’s name seems doubly appropriate.

Before modern roads were carved through the steep hills that surround the town, Kimble County was quite a forbidding place, and only the most courageous (or the most desperate) ventured here. In the early 1850s, when settlement began in the Hill Country, the government established Fort Terrett near the head of the North Llano River to protect the settlers from Indians. The fort was abandoned just a year later because there were neither settlers nor Indians in the area!

Kimble County was formed in 1858 from lands formerly assigned to Bexar County, but was attached to Gillespie County for judicial purposes until 1875. The county was named for George C. Kimble, a hero of the Alamo. In the meantime, a few hardy pioneers had begun to trickle in.

One of the first was Raleigh Gentry, who arrived in 1859 with his wife and six sons to set up housekeeping on the banks of Bear Creek, about five miles upstream from the North Llano River. The family lived well, with abundant game, wild honey and a small cultivated field. Once or twice a year, Gentry would make a trip to Fredericksburg for supplies.

The Moore, Gibson and Bradbury families were among the early arrivals, as well. But the peace they enjoyed was short-lived, for as the frontier pushed west, the Indians retreated into the Kimble County area. From the mid-1860s to the late 1870s, Kimble County pioneers were in constant fear of Indian attack, and many died at the hands of the fierce raiding parties. By the mid-1870s, a flood of pioneers had turned the ...

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