Paint Rock, the county seat of Concho County, is in the north central part of the county at the junction of Ranch Road 380 and US 83, east of San Angelo.
The town was named for the extensive Indian pictographs about a mile away on the bluffs of the Concho River.
It acquired a railroad connection in 1910, with the completion of the Concho, San Saba and Llano Valley Railroad from Miles (Runnels County) to Paint Rock. The railroad was discontinued after a flood washed away the bridge over the Concho River in late 1936. The development of Paint Rock was punctuated by two serious fires, in 1909 and 1922, on the town square.
In 1931 the population reached a peak of 1,000, then fell to 500 by 1933. It rose to 800 by 1941 and remained at about that level for the next two decades, when it began to decline again. After hitting a low of 193 in 1972, the population stood at 290 in 1988. In 1993 thirteen businesses and 224 residents were reported there.