History
1933 Austin Public Library
Overlooking one of the city's four public squares platted in 1893, this site was obtained from the Texas Legislature in 1913 for a public library. Completed in 1933, this building represents the most prominent public work of Austin native Hugo Kuehne, founding dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture.
History
Abner Hugh Cook
(Mar. 20, 1814 - Feb. 21, 1884) A native of North Carolina, Abner Cook came to the newly created capital city of Austin in 1839 with a skill in design and construction that soon earned him the title of master builder.
History
Adams-Ziller House
Augusta Adams (ca. 1817-1907), a widow and native of Mecklenberg, Germany, immigrated to Texas and purchased land at this site in 1857. This modest structure was constructed circa 1868. Augusta later married Herman Hertel. Her two daughters, Mary and Theresa Adams, married brothers August and William Ziller, sons of one of Austin's earliest settlers, Michael Ziller.
Architecture
Addcox House
Built in 1935 for Mary Susie Sheedy, this house changed hands three times before being purchased by University of Texas electrician Charles J. Addcox and his wife, Addie Lee, a homemaker and nursery school operator, in 1944. It became known as the "Red Rock House on the Corner." An extraordinary eclectic structure, the house was crafted with mixed stone and brick veneer.
History
African Americans in the Texas Revolution
Many African Americans, free and slave, supported Texas during its 1835-36 War of Independence from Mexico. Although official recognition of the African American role was generally denied, recorded accounts of individual acts of bravery and patriotism survived.
History
Anderson's Mill
Built in 1863 - by - Thomas Anderson - A native of Pennsylvania - Used as a powder mill - For the Confederate Armies - During the Civil War - Erected by the State of Texas 1936
History
Andrew Jackson Hamilton
(January 28, 1815 - April 11, 1875) A native of Alabama, Andrew Jackson Hamilton moved his family to Texas in the 1840s. He served as state attorney general and as a member of the state legislature before being elected to the U. S. Congress in 1859. An opponent of secession, he left Texas during the Civil War but in 1865 was appointed provisional governor by President Andrew Johnson.
History
Annie Webb Blanton
Annie Webb Blanton (1870-1945). Educated in the public schools of Houston and La Grange, Anne Webb Blanton began her teaching career in 1887 in the small Fayette County town of Pine Springs. In 1888 she moved to Austin, where she taught public school and attended the University of Texas.
History
Approximate Location of the Missions
Approximate location of the Missions San Francisco de Los Neches, Nuestra Senora de la Purisma Concepcion, San Jose de los Nazonis. Established in East Texas by Franciscan missionaries in 1716 for the Christianizing and civilizing of the Indians in the region. Abandoned temporarily due to the French incursions from Louisiana in 1719. Restored by the Marquis of Aguayo in 1721.
Architecture
Ashford McGill House (Zilker Park Refectory)
Originally built in the 1870s for Austin pioneer Ashford McGill, this native limestone structure and the surrounding property were purchased by Andrew J. Zilker who conveyed the land to the city for a park in 1931. Remodeled by the Federal Civil Works Administration for use as a multiple purpose park building, the house now exhibits 1930s-era detailing, including a pergola-covered courtyard.
History
Austin High School
A Centennial of Public High School Education Tax supported, locally controlled secondary education began in Austin in 1881 with the establishment of a high school department in the city school district. Plans for implementing the program were developed under the leadership of school board President A. P. Wooldridge and Superintendent John B. Winn.
History
Austin High School_Rio Grande Campus
In Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for the city of Austin, two blocks were set aside for schools at Rio Grande and 12th Street, then called College Avenue. The Austin school board in 1881 authorized the use of existing school facilities on the south block to house the primary grades 1-4, grammar school classes 5-7, and high school grades 8-11.
History
Austin Lodge No. 12, A.F. & A.M.
Master masons gathered at the home of Edwin Waller, surveyor of the townsite of Austin, on Oct. 11, 1839, one week before President Mirabeau B. Lamar arrived to set up government in the new Republic of Texas capital. Grand master Branch Archer authorized the organization of Austin Lodge No. 12 on Nov. 7, 1839. Alexander Russell was the first worshipful master.
History
Austin Memorial Park Cemetery
As the population of the city of Austin grew larger during the early 20th century, a privately owned cemetery with plots available for purchase by the public became necessary. In 1927, Austin Memorial Park, a private corporation, purchased farm land located northwest of the city of Austin from Gladys and J.T. Bowman. The first recorded burial in Austin Memorial Park was that of M.A.
History
Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
This seminary had its origins in the Austin School of Theology, begun in 1884 by the Rev. Dr. Richmond Kelley Smoot and the Rev. Dr. Robert Lewis Dabney to provide training for candidates for the Presbyterian ministry whom the founders hoped would remain in Texas and the Southwest. Smoot and Dabney both taught classes, but received no compensation.
History
Austin State Hospital
While Texas was a frontier state and psychiatry a pioneer venture, the Texas Legislature in 1856 created this hospital for the mentally ill; in 1925, named Austin State Hospital. Oldest Texas mental hospital. Construction began in 1857.
Architecture
Austin Woman's Club
Begun as family residence by Mrs.Catherine North in 1847. Completed in style of French chateau by Austin banker, Maj. Ira Evans,1892. Bought by charter members, A.W.C.,1929. Remodeled, using 19th century materials. Recorded Texas Historic landmark,1965
History
Austin, C.S.A.
An active place during the Civil War, Austin was the site of the secession convention, March 2, 1861, and legislative sessions which lasted until June 1865. City visitors during the early 1860s included lobbyists, cotton speculators, military leaders, and businessmen seeking to aid the war effort. Five stage lines and a pony express to the railhead at Brenham provided communications.
History
Austin's Moonlight Towers
This is one of 27 that remain out of 31 towers erected 1894-95 and in continuous use since. Their carbon arc lights then illuminated entire city. Now mercury vapor lamps provide beacons for many miles on roads and airway, from dusk to dawn. Austin is said to be unique in the dramatic method of lighting.
Architecture
B. J. Smith Property
Purchased from State of Texas at auction in 1853, by Smith, a school proprietor. Structure, one of the better early homes in Austin, was probably built in the 1850's. Handmade hardware, doors and others structural parts reveal fine workmanship. Recorded Texas Historic landmark. 1968
History
Balcones Fault Aids Colonization of Texas
Curving through the center of Texas form Hill County south and west to Uvalde County is the rugged escarpment-fault called Balcones. The abundance of natural resources associated with this geologic formation affected the pattern of colonization in Texas.
History
Barr Mansion
Built in 1898 for cotton merchant William Braxton Barr (1864-1902) and his wife, Matilda (Tilly) Birdwell (1868-1951), this home was designed by Austin architect Charles Page. Barr named the surrounding community after his grandfather Capt. Erasmus Sprinkle (1813-1906), with whom he built a cotton gin and general store.
Nature
Barton Springs
Clear and icy, these springs over the years have drawn Indians, pioneers, and tourists to this spot. The waters are brought from the limestone strata to the surface by the Balcones Fault, which bisects Central Texas. Average flow is 27,000,000 gallons daily. During 1730-1731, Spanish friars located three missions here.
History
Becker School
Herman Becker (1857-1933) operated a successful downtown café, and he bought part of the historic Bouldin homestead in south Austin in 1891. His son H.E. Becker and son-in-law P.A. Wilde, proprietors of the Becker Lumber Company, donated three acres of Bouldin land to the Austin Independent School District in 1935 for a new school site.
History
Bethany Cemetery
This cemetery was established in the late 1800s when burial space set aside for African Americans in Austin's historic Oakwood Cemetery was no longer available. The oldest recorded burial is that of infant Hellen Moore in 1879. C. W. Jones purchased this land in 1892. The Bethany Cemetery Company, formed in 1893 by William Holland, Henderson Rollins, Allen Bradley and William M.
Elsewhere in Texas
Hear it from the road
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