History
Archaeological investigations of the Bull Creek area show a long history of utilization by humans. One study sponsored by the Bull Creek Foundation found prehistoric utilization dating from "Early Archaic to Late Prehistoric (Toyah phase)". [2]
Among the early Anglo settlers to the Bull Creek area were Will Preece, wife Elizabeth Gideon, and sons Richard Lincoln Preece (also known as Dick Preece) and Will Jr., both of whom would go on to be Texas Rangers. The Preece family owned about “three thousand acres that stretched from Lake Travis to Cedar Park, roughly along FM 1431”. [3]
Will Preece brought his family to Texas about 1838 and settled in the Bull Creek area. The name “Bull Creek” is attributed to the killing of a male buffalo on Bull Creek, either by Will Preece, or by his son Dick. In his article, “My Grandfather, Dick Preece”, Real West magazine, Harold Preece, grandson of Dick Preece, claims it was his great-grandfather, Will Preece, while other sources cite Dick Preece. That same article says that “A few miles from the Preece ranch lay the southern terminus of the bloody Comanche Trail”, and Dick Preece was active as a Texas Ranger in combatting the Comanche in Texas. During the Civil War, the Preece family, like many in Travis County, opposed secession from the Union, and the remote location and "caves" of Bull Creek provided a base for Union loyalists resisting the Confederacy. [4] After the Civil War, a feeder branch of the Chisholm Trail is said to have passed by the house of Dick Preece. [3]
After his death in 1919 Dick Preece was buried along West Bull Creek, at the Preece cemetery, on Vaught Ranch Rd. Austin, TX 78730, just off RM 2222 (lat/long 30.372948,-97.807322). The University of Texas’ Briscoe Center for American History is home to the “Richard Lincoln Preece Papers, 1859-1919”, which comprises correspondence, printed material, legal and financial documents, etc. pertaining to Dick Preece’s experiences as a soldier serving in the Civil War and as a rancher following the war.
The History of Travis County and Austin states "The Mormons are credited with construction, in 1846, of one of Travis County's oldest roads to the northwest, the one that today is a scenic drive along Bull Creek to the Spicewood Springs Road, and which then led to a mill on Bull Creek used after the Mormon Mill washed away". [5] The "Mormon Mill" referenced is the one that was built near what used to be called the "Great Falls" on the Colorado river before Tom Miller Dam was constructed, and the "scenic drive" is today Lakewood Drive. Most of the original road is now under Loop 360. [6]
As of May 2021, the City of Austin was in negotiations to buy one 10-acre plot of land along the Bull Creek Greenbelt and has begun eminent domain proceedings to acquire another adjacent 11-acre plot of land to expand the current greenbelt. [7]
Williamson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 609,017. Its county seat is Georgetown. The county is named for Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804?–1859), a community leader and a veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto.
Travis County is located in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat and most populous city is Austin, the capital of Texas. The county was established in 1840 and is named in honor of William Barret Travis, the commander of the Republic of Texas forces at the Battle of the Alamo. Travis County is part of the Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the Balcones Fault, the boundary between the Edwards Plateau to the west and the Blackland Prairie to the east.
Burnet County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 49,130. Its county seat is Burnet. The county was founded in 1852 and later organized in 1854. It is named for David Gouverneur Burnet, the first (provisional) president of the Republic of Texas. The name of the county is pronounced with the emphasis or accent on the first syllable, just as is the case with its namesake.
The Texas Hill Country is a geographic region of Central and South Texas, forming the southeast part of the Edwards Plateau. Given its location, climate, terrain, and vegetation, the Hill Country can be considered the border between the American Southeast and Southwest. The region represents the very remote rural countryside of Central Texas, but also is home to growing suburban neighborhoods and affluent retirement communities.
The Edwards Plateau is a geographic region forming the crossroads of Central, South and West Texas, United States. It is bounded by the Balcones Fault to the south and east; the Llano Uplift and the Llano Estacado to the north; and the Pecos River and Chihuahuan Desert to the west. San Angelo, Austin, San Antonio and Del Rio roughly outline the area. The plateau, especially its southeast portion, is also known as the Texas Hill Country.
Mount Bonnell, also known as Covert Park, is a prominent point alongside the Lake Austin portion of the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. It has been a popular tourist destination since the 1850s. The mount provides a vista for viewing the city of Austin, Lake Austin, and the surrounding hills. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1969, bearing Marker number 6473, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Loop 360 is a 13.99-mile (22.51 km) loop route in Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. Loop 360 is a scenic highway winding through the hills of West Austin. The road is described by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) as "a 4-lane depressed median arterial with at-grade signalized intersections." In 2021, the average daily traffic was 58,497 vehicles at the most traveled point, north of RM 2222.
Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve consists of 227 acres of native Texas Hill Country habitat west of Austin, Texas in West Lake Hills. The preserve was founded in 1974 by seven women who were members of an environmentalist group called Now or Never, and it was Austin's first nature preserve. The preserve maintains 2.5 miles (4 km) of hiking trails.
Barton Creek is a tributary that feeds the Colorado River as it flows through the Texas Hill Country. The creek passes through some of the more scenic areas in Greater Austin, surrounded in many parts by a greenbelt of protected lands that serves as a habitat for many indigenous species of flora and fauna. The creek passes through Barton Creek Greenbelt and is fed by Barton Springs.
Hamilton Pool Preserve is a recreational destination located in the Texas Hill Country west of Austin. Reservations are required to visit, and it is open for hiking and sight-seeing. Hamilton Pool is a natural pool that was created when the dome of an underground river collapsed due to massive erosion thousands of years ago. The pool is located about 23 miles (37 km) west of Austin, Texas off Highway 71. Since the 1960s, Hamilton Pool has been a popular summer swimming spot for Austin visitors and residents. Hamilton Pool Preserve consists of 232 acres (0.94 km2) of protected natural habitat featuring a jade green pool into which a 50-foot (15 m) waterfall flows with water temperatures reaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Colorado Bend State Park is a 5,328.3-acre (2,156 ha) state park located in the Hill Country region of the U.S. state of Texas, mostly in San Saba County. It was purchased by the state in 1984 and opened to the public in 1987. It is representative of the karst features typically seen in the Hill Country, with many sinkholes, caves, and springs.
Lake Travis Independent School District is a public school district headquartered in Austin, Texas, (USA). It was created on June 12, 1981, after school board members decided to split the Dripping Springs Independent School District in order to handle the growing population of the Lake Travis area.
The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Central Texas on the western edge of the American South and on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, and borders Greater San Antonio to the south.
The Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, Texas is managed by the City of Austin's Park and Recreation Department. The Greenbelt is a 7.25-mile (11.67 km) stretch of public land commonly referred to as "The Hill of Life". It stretches southeast and then northeast from the Woods of Westlake subdivision to the final section in Zilker Park. The Greenbelt consists of three areas: the Barton Creek Wilderness Park, the Upper Greenbelt, and the Lower Greenbelt. It is characterized by large limestone cliffs, dense foliage, and shallow bodies of water.
Canyon Creek is a residential neighborhood located in far northwest Austin, Texas. The neighborhood is located in ZIP Code 78726 and is bordered by Ranch to Market Road 2222 (RM 2222) on the south, Ranch to Market Road 620 (RM 620) on the west, Anderson Mill Road on the north, and a major headwater tributary of Bull Creek to the east as well as the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge. The major bisecting road is Boulder Lane, a loop which crosses RM 620 at the north and south entrances. The neighborhood is approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from Lake Travis and Lake Austin.
Spicewood is an unincorporated community in Travis County and partially in Burnet County, Texas, United States. According to the Texas Almanac, the community had an estimated population of 2,000 in 2000. But in the 2011 census, the community had a population of 7,666. The community also extends towards Travis County off Highway 71.
The Pinta Trail is a historic trail in Central Texas that was first traveled by indigenous tribes, and later explorers, settlers, soldiers, and travelers. The 19th-century Germans who settled the Texas Hill Country used part of the Pinta Trail on their journey northward from New Braunfels to found Fredericksburg. A historic battle between a Texas Rangers patrol and a band of Comanches is often said to have occurred near a ford where the Pinta Trail crossed the Guadalupe River.
Ray Roberts Lake State Park is a state park located in Denton County, Texas, near Pilot Point, Texas. The park is 3,777 acres (1,528 ha). It is very popular due to its proximity to the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area – in 2016, it was the 8th most popular Texas state park with 244,193 visitors. The park is divided into nine units: three are developed, and six have boat ramps with lake access.
This is a compendium of information on springs in Travis County, Texas, especially those with prehistoric or historic links to Texas Native Americans. Information is based primarily on Gunnar Brune's report to the Texas Water Development Board, "Major and Historical Springs of Texas", and his book, Springs of Texas. Additional sources are cited with associated springs.
Croton alabamensis var. texensis is a variety of Croton alabamensis that is endemic to the state of Texas in the United States. It is commonly known as the Texabama croton.
