New Interpretive Signs on Bull Creek Greenbelt Trails

This is an expanded post of my history article for the October 2017 issue of the NWACA Newsletter.

October and the temps are finally cooling! And if you are out for a hike on our Bull Creek Greenbelt trails you may notice a couple of new interpretive signs. These new signs on the history of Bull Creek are a joint effort of the Bull Creek Foundation, Northwest Hills Civic Association (NWACA) neighbor Nancy Thompson and daughter Luci of Girl Scout Troop 812, City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and me as a member of the Travis County Historical Commission.

One of the interpretive trail signs is about the old mill that was located on Bull Creek.

Walden Mill at Bull Creek

 Before electricity, flowing water was a prime source of energy to run mills for sawing lumber and grinding grains. The Mormons are credited with construction, in 1846, of one of Travis County's first mills on Bull Creek. But the Mormons were not the only ones to build mills on Bull Creek; and the trail signage talks about one built ca. 1850s by Hughell Walden, one of the early settlers to the Bull Creek Valley.



Another interpretive trail sign talks about Native Americans and Bull Creek.

Native Americans at Bull Creek

Archeological investigations of the Bull Creek area show utilization by humans stretching back at least 9,000 years. The canyons of Bull Creek offered the criteria of favored campsites on the Edwards Plateau: shelter in or near pecan groves (pecan fat content is comparable to bison) along perennial water sources, with close proximity to quality flint. At Austin’s founding, historically recorded tribes included Apache, Comanche, Tonkawa, and Waco (a branch of the Wichita).


So, out for a walk along the trails of Bull Creek Greenbelt? Be on the lookout for the new interpretive signs. An unveiling ceremony is planned for Sunday, October 22nd, 2017, 1pm. The signs will be installed by the south parking lot of the Bull Creek Greenbelt Lower, 7806 N Capital of Texas Hwy (access via Winding Ridge Boulevard).

For more on this part of the Bull Creek Greenbelt, see this link:
https://www.austinparks.org/parks/bull-creek-greenbelt-lower/