Perhaps more than any other Hill Country town, Bandera exudes the image of the “Wild, Wild West.” The ruggedly beautiful landscape, the rustic architecture and the enthusiastic presentation of Bandera as the “Cowboy Capital of the World” let visitors know, as soon as they get to town, that this place is unique.

This unique quality is not new; the nearly-impenetrable area around Bandera Pass was one of the principal strongholds of the Apache tribes, and they fought furiously to protect their territory. The early settlers in Bandera County were subjected to frequent raids; many lost their lives and many more lost their livestock during the town’s first four decades. The hardships made the survivors strong and self-reliant; today’s town is their legacy.

There are several possible explanations for Bandera’s name. One old story says that it was a General Bandera who led Spanish troops in the first big battle at Bandera Pass (around 1733). Another legend says that a “bandera” (Spanish for flag) was placed in the pass as a boundary marker between the Spanish and the Apaches (if that is true, the bandera was unsuccessful; both sides traveled back and forth, and the pass was the scene of many battles).

In 1843, a band of about 40 Texas Rangers led by Colonel Jack Hays was ambushed in Bandera Pass by several hundred Comanche warriors. Though the Rangers were saved by their new Colt revolvers (which fired much more rapidly than what the Comanches were used to), five Rangers lost their lives and the Comanches withdrew only after their chief was killed in the battle.

The first “settlers” in Bandera County were three families who camped next to the Medina River in the spring of 1852 to make shingles from the majestic cypresses that grew along the river’s banks. They were soon followed by Amasa Clark, John James, Charles de Montel and a few others.

Amasa Clark was born in 1828 (in New York state) to a family ...

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