Lake Mineral Wells State Park sits along Rock Creek, a large tributary of the Brazos River. This area was an early home to several Native American tribes, including the Comanche.

Settlers began arriving in the early 1850s, and intermittent warfare occurred until the late 1870s. Rugged terrain and lush native grasses attracted many early-day ranchers to this area, including Charles Goodnight, Oliver Loving and C. C. Slaughter, who ran large herds of Longhorn cattle. Ranching continues to be an economic mainstay of this area.