[3] It was named in honor of General William R. Shafter, who at one point commanded the nearby (relatively speaking) Fort Davis.

Tucked in the Chinati Mountains on Cibolo Creek, 18 miles north of Presidio, Shafter was once a bustling mining town with a population as high as 4000, in 1940.

[5] When an assay commissioned by Colonel Shafter confirmed profitable amounts of silver were in Spencer's ore samples, he brought in two of his military associates, Lt. John L. Bullis and Lt. Louis Wilhelmi, to join the venture.

[6] Then, in June 1882, lacking sufficient capital to develop the acreage on their own, the partners leased a portion of their holdings to a mining group from California which had both the money and expertise to proceed.

In 1883, this group established the Presidio Mining Company, which in turn contracted with three of the partners to acquire their interests in a stock-for-land trade.

[5] United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died at nearby Cibolo Creek Ranch on February 13, 2016.

Ore deposits are found in the Permian limestone and consist of supergene replacement minerals argentite and cerargyrite along the bedding.

[5] In the 1940s, faced with increased production costs, a shortage of miners, and an attempt to unionize those who were employed, the American Metal Company simply shut down their operation.

[7] Today, Shafter is home to only a few families and, over the past several decades, has registered a population ranging from 11 to 30 persons.