It's all Balcones Fault!

My history article for the November 2016 NWACA Newsletter

In 1895-96 a survey of Travis County reported nine-tenths of the population lived "east of the Balcones scarp, .. to the west being but sparsely populated." If Anglo settlement was slow to move west into the hills, the hills were by no mean unoccupied. Many a story of early Austin involved raids in which the Indians made good their escape to the “mountains” west of town; that is, to our neighborhood. At Austin’s founding, our neighborhood was in the domain of the Indians, notably the Penateka Comanche who made the Texas hill country their home.

On Loop 360 near Bluffstone Drive is a history marker. Here’s a bit from that marker:

 Balcones Fault Aids Colonization of Texas

Curving through the center of Texas from 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. The numerous springs and wooded hills of the escarpment and adjacent fertile prairies attracted Indian tribes and Spanish colonists before the area was permanently settled by Anglo-American pioneers. Spanish explorer Bernardo De Miranda in 1756 named the formation “Los Balcones”, meaning “Balconies.” Part of El Camino Real, the “King’s Highway,” skirted the fault line.

Balcones Fault is arguably the defining geologic feature of our neighborhood. Today we know what attracts us to Northwest Hills: its beauty, great schools, and location. But what would Native Americans have found so attractive about our neighborhood? Let’s read the landscape from their perspective.

While Northwest Hills is today not known for great water pressure, back then it was a different story, with an abundance springs: historic Spicewood Springs, Stillhouse Springs (named for the stills that produced moonshine during prohibition), and the springs that feed Bull Creek. Springs probably dotted the mesa in old times, such as the grotto springs of the Dell Jewish Community Campus. And just north, the headwaters of Walnut Creek and Shoal Creek, both prominent in Austin history related to Indians.

Then there are the hills themselves, called “mountains” back in the day. High ground allows one to see (game, friends, foe) and be seen (signaling). Cat Mountain at 928 ft. is a myth buster that Mount Bonnell at 775 ft. is the highest point in Austin. It would have provided exceptional observation of the Bull Creek valley.

Besides the utilitarian value of caves and rock shelters -- often a source of springs and shelter -- people in general seem attracted to caves and often play into the mythology of Native Americans. In our area are a number of caves, sinkholes and rock shelters which may well have drawn Native Americans. Stillhouse Spring flows from the back of a rock shelter; sinkholes dot the limestone around Stillhouse Hollow Nature Preserve. And then there’s “Dead Dog Cave” buried beneath Luby’s parking lot!

Finally, location, location, location. What makes the neighborhood attractive to us – handy to everywhere, lying on several key roads – probably made it attractive to Indians. Several trails are nearby, like an offshoot of El Camino Real referenced on the historical marker. And just north of the neighborhood is a source of several types of flint prized by Native Americans since prehistoric times: Georgetown Flint and Brushy Creek Black.

So who would blame the Indians back in the day if they escaped into the mountains west of Austin? After all, it’s all Balcones Fault.