Established in October 1877, Old Bear Creek served as the patrol base for Company E of the Frontier Battalion, Texas Rangers, who watched for Indians and outlaws along the Llano River. The area was a popular refuge for cattle and horse thieves, murderers, and mail robbers, and within a few weeks many were captured by the thirty-man unit commanded by Lieutenant N. O. Reynolds. In 1878 the Rangers also helped fight off one of the last Indian raids in the area. Protection from this camp, which was used until the mid-1880s, opened the way for peaceful settlement in Kimble and nearby counties.