Montvale was established in 1884 when the pioneer settlement of St. Elmo was relocated there. Then part of Tom Green County, it stood on the Shafter Military Trail, an early road from Fort Concho. The area's earliest community school was operating by 1886, and in 1889 H.B. Tarver, surveyor for Tom Green County, platted the town. It was believed to have been named for a nearby hill called Mt. Vale in Tarver's field notes. Early businesses included R.B. Cummins's saddle and harness shop and B.Z. Cooper's general store and blacksmith shop. Montvale also had a Methodist church, a hotel, a post office, and various stores. About 1889 R.B. Cummins started the town of Cummins, 5.4 miles northwest, upriver from Montvale. Both settlements began to decline in 1891 when Sterling City, 3.5 miles northwest, became the seat of government for the newly created Sterling County. A community cemetery is all that remains of Montvale, a pioneer settlement that played an important role in the area's development.