Historical Markers in Travis County
Texas·296 places·Page 2 of 12
History
Blackshear Elementary School
Opened in 1891 to provide free public education to African-American children in the community then known as Gregory Town, Blackshear Elementary School was known in earlier years as School no. 3, Gregory Town School and Gregory School. In 1936, it was named for Edward L. Blackshear (1862-1919), a 19th-century teacher and principal who left Austin in 1895 to become head of Prairie View College.
Architecture
Bloor House
Local rancher and farmer Alfred Sutton Bloor (1850-1899) and his wife Martha (Wainwright) (1849-1928), natives of Pennsylvania, built this home in 1897-98. Constructed by the Elgin Press Brick Co., the house features characteristics of the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival styles. Outstanding features include the turreted corners and the massive portico.
History
Boardman-Webb House
In the 1850s Dr George T. Boardman (d. 1884) came to Austin to practice dentistry. He developed a new process to fill teeth and helped incorporate the American Dental College. He bought this property in 1855 from early Austin merchant John Bremond. The land was part of the original city plat of Austin. Dr Boardman erected the two-story residence with Victorian styling about 1880.
History
Boggy Creek Masonic Cemetery
According to local tradition, in the winter of 1859, 23-year-old John Davis joined a community wagon train headed for work in the pine forests of Bastrop County. Davis, sprayed by a skunk during the night, began running wildly through the camp. He was mistaken for a Comanche intruder and accidentally shot to death. His father, Jenkins Davis, buried his son here, on 2.
Architecture
Bohls House
Gottlieb William Bohls (1878-1961), the oldest of Heinrich and Julie Schroder Bohls' ten children, was born on his family's farm near this site. In 1906, G.W. married Bertha Timmerman (1883-1967), and five years later they purchased a 95-acre farm on the Austin-Hutto Road, formerly the site of the Carrington Ranch School.
History
Boyce Family Cemetery
Set among rolling hills in Manor, the Boyce Family Cemetery only has five graves, consisting of the family patriarch, Aaron Boyce (1800-1846), his wife, Elizabeth Judah (Ely) Boyce (1804-1884), their son, James Boyce (1826-1841), their daughter, Elizabeth Ely (Boyce) Knight (1834-1870), and her infant son, R. Reason Pumphrey (d. 1850).
History
Bratton Cemetery
Kentucky native John Bratton (1812-1855) came to Texas with his family in 1837. Ten years later, Bratton purchased land in this area and set aside one acre for use as a burial ground for family members and friends. The earliest known burial, that of Mary J. Robey, took place in 1847.
History
Brizendine House
This simple vernacular rough ashlar house represents the life style of the late 19th century working middle class family in Austin. The exterior proportions of the structure reflect Victorian influence. Built of limestone about 1870 by John R. Brizendine (1829-1914), an Austin carpenter, machinist, and miller. Brizendine, a native of Kentucky, lived here until his death. Mrs.
Music History
Broken Spoke
In 1964, Austin native James M. White (1939-2021) opened a new dance hall and restaurant south of the city limits at a former lumberyard on South Lamar. It was designed in the style of a traditional honky tonk, and patrons danced to jukebox records and live bands on weekends. The Broken Spoke was so popular that White enlarged the facility with a dance hall and stage.
History
Brueggemann-Sandbo House
Julius Brueggemann (1851-1922), a German stone and cement mason who had worked on the State Capitol, built this house with the help of his two sons about 1907. Constructed of molded concrete blocks, it served as a residence for his son Max. In 1913 the home was sold to Anders and Anna Sandbo. A civic leader, Anna (d.
History
Buddington-Benedict-Sheffield Compound
Albert and Rebecca Buddington built the first part of this compound as their home c. 1860. In 1921, it became the home of Dr. Harry Y. Benedict, a mathematician who served as University of Texas professor and president. Delia Edwards, a later owner, commissioned Arthur Fehr to alter the original house and design an adjacent rustic-style cottage with a fireplace mantel carved by Peter Mansbendel.
Architecture
Buen Retiro
Colonial Revival mansion built 1902 by Austin financier Louis Nicholas Goldbeck. Sold 1908 to Texas Association of Phi Gamma Delta, national fraternity first chartered in Texas in 1856. Housing Tau Deuteron chapter, this has been campus residence of men who became statesmen and cultural and business leaders.
Military
Camp Ben McCulloch
Camp Ben McCulloch, near Driftwood in Hays County, was organized in the summer of 1896 as a reunion camp for Confederate veterans and named for Benjamin McCulloch. The first commander was Capt. M. L. Reed of Henly. Annual three-day reunions were held at the camp, often with 5,000 to 6,000 persons attending. In 1930 Ben McCulloch was said to be the largest Confederate camp in existence.
Military
Camp Mabry
The original 85-acre tract (gift of Austin citizens in 1892) was the site of annual encampments for the Texas Volunteer Guard, an elite militia constituted in 1876. Because larger maneuver, parade, and drill areas were needed, the guardsmen worked actively to acquire more land. With state and federal purchases, the camp at its largest consisted of over 430 acres.
History
Carlson
Brothers Pete and John Carlson, Swedish immigrants who came to America in 1869, settled in this area in 1881. Pete opened Carlson Store, the first store in the community, and John operated the local cotton gin. The town's economy was based on cotton farming.
Architecture
Carrington Bluff House
In 1854, local Austin merchant and land speculator, L.D. Carrington (1816-1897), bought this property and the surrounding outlots for his family farm from Hannah (Este) Burnet (1800-1858), wife of the first president of the Republic of Texas, David G. Burnet (1788-1870), and built a house in the 1880s.
Architecture
Carrington-Covert House
Leonidas D. Carrington (1816-97) and his wife, Martha Hill Carrington (1824-59), came to Austin from Mississippi in 1852. He began to accumulate real estate and on Sept. 15, 1853, bought this block from James M.W. Hall, Austin hotelman, and ten days later opened a mercantile store on Congress Avenue.
History
Cementerio Mexicano de Maria de la Luz
Tradition holds that a family passing through the area in 1912 buried a child, Maria de la Luz, at this site. In August of that year, A. Donley, A.C. Rodriguez and S. Galvan bought the land for use as a Mexican cemetery. In the 1940s, a fire set to eliminate tall grass at the site burned many of the wooden markers and crosses denoting gravesites.
History
City of Manor
In area first settled by James Manor (1804-81), who came from Tennessee with Sam Houston in 1832, later returning for his family and a sister and brother. Until 1852, area was subject to Indian raids. Other pioneers included A.F., W.M., and James Boyce, Sterling Chamberlain, Dave Eppright, J.I. Haynes, Ed Harrington, A.C. and W.H. Hill, W.B. Howse, N.A. Rector, W.L. Shipp, E. D.
History
Clara Driscoll
(April 2, 1881 - July 17, 1945) Patriot, philanthropist, writer, public figure. Born at St.Mary's, Refugio County; daughter of Robert and Julia Fox Driscoll, and descendant of a hero of San Jacinto; was educated in Texas, New York and France. In 1903 came her finest hour.
Architecture
Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall
Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall The University of Texas System Constructed during the period 1912-1914. This building was the seventh United States post office location in Austin, Texas. The supervising architect for the neo-classical revival style structure was James Knox Taylor of the U.S. Treasury Department.
History
Clayton Vocational Institute
In 1903 the Rev. Joseph E. Clayton was called to be principal of Manor's first black school. Under his leadership, the educational program included vocational and mechanical training, as well as the study of languages, arts, and sciences. In 1919 the facility became part of the public school system and was known as Clayton Vocational Institute.
Military
Col. Lewis Miles Hobbs Washington
(Dec. 2, 1813 - Feb. 1857) Georgia native Lewis Washington came to Texas about 1835 and joined the Revolutionary forces at San Antonio. A member of Col. Fannin's staff, he served with the Georgia Battalion at Refugio and Goliad. He was appointed to an office in Sam Houston's presidential administration during the days of the Republic.
History
Collins Cemetery
Established by Newton Isaac Collins, Sr. (1826-1903), an emancipated slave from Alabama, the Collins Cemetery is the final resting place for his family. After the Civil War, Collins acquired land throughout eastern Travis County, establishing the thriving community of Pilot Knob. The first known burial was Collins' son-in-law, Ben Bremond, in 1894.
History
Colored Teachers State Association of Texas Building
Built by John S. Chase (1925-2012), the first licensed African American architect in the state, this building originally housed the Colored Teachers State Association of Texas. Founded in 1884, the association achieved a number of civil rights victories for African American students and teachers in segregated Texas society.
Elsewhere in Texas
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