Camp Verde General Store and Post Office
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 53.636 W 099° 06.292
14R E 489875 N 3307036
A marker and medallion by the Camp Verde visitors center 13 miles South of Kerrville on SH 173 (in Kerr County); near the old headquarters of the mid-19th century U.S. Camel Corps.
Waymark Code: WMRRZZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/31/2016
Views: 10
A little background info of the old Camp Verde US Army base, per
Wikipedia:
"Camp Verde was a United States Army facility established on July 8, 1856 in Kerr County, Texas along the road from San Antonio to El Paso. [It] was the headquarters for U.S. Camel Corps, which experimented with using dromedaries as pack animals in the southwestern US. The Army imported camels in 1856 and 1857, using them with some success in extended surveys in the Southwest. The camels did not get along with the Army's horses and mules, which would bolt out of fear when they smelled a camel. The soldiers found the camels difficult to handle and they detested the smell of the animals. [...] Camp Verde was abandoned on April 1, 1869. Ruins of the officers' quarters are located on what is now private land."
Camp Verde's camels were brought over from North Africa, via Indianola Texas (see associated
The Great Camel Experiment historical marker).
The post office is no longer in use, but the store has remained open throughout the years. It was originally open only on payroll day, but once the U.S. Army closed Camp Verde it continued to serve pioneers passing through this area. It is now strictly a tourist trap, selling Tiffany lamps, 1875 candy cases, pressed in ceilings and original P.O. boxes, postcards, as well as books and newspapers of the 1850's recounting the old "camel experiment".