Julia Lee Sinks, author and
historian, was an early settler to Austin, arriving in the spring of
1840. Before meeting and marrying George Sinks, chief clerk of the Post Office
Department of the republic of Texas, she lived on West Pecan, present
day 6th street, and later wrote “Our home was on the beaten track of
the Indians into town from the pass of Mount Bonnell. The knolls beyond the quarry
branch were interspersed with timber, and sometimes though not often, we would
see galloping past the open spaces beyond the blanketed Indian. The path along
the quarry branch, secluded as it was, became their main inlet to the town. It
was a sheltered road, never traveled at night by whites, so the Indians claimed
right of way, and all full moons brought moccasin tracks in abundance”.[1]
One question I have: What "quarry" and "branch" is she referring to? Possibilities ..
- Is it related to Johnson Branch somehow?
- Is it related to the quarry from which the Johnson House was built? The history marker says " Erected 1858 by Chas. Johnson, near the WM. McGill Ford on the Colorado River. Built by fellow Swedes, of native stone from his own quarry and lime kiln"
- Is it related to Quarry Road north of Enfield (15th?)
[1] Kerr, Jeffrey, and Ray Spivey. The Republic of Austin. AUSTIN, TEXAS: WATERLOO, 2010. Kerr is quoting
materials from the Julia Lee Sinks Papers, 1817, [ca. 1840]-1904, Dolph Briscoe
Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
No comments:
Post a Comment