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< Barton
Springs, page 4 - Zilker Park
Of
historical interest is the story of the Butler Brick Company whose history
is intertwined with Barton Springs.
The Butler Brick Company was founded by Michael Butler in 1873 when he came from
Limerick, Ireland to join his brother Patrick in Austin.
The first plant was located between Congress Avenue and East Avenue (now IH35)
but was washed out by repeated floods. Butler built another plant south of the
river along Barton Springs Road. Butler and Zilker had land that bordered each
other where the fence line met at the old rock bridge over Barton Creek. If one
built a fence, the other did, too. When one planted alfalfa, the other soon followed.
One fenced in Robert E. Lee Road, so the other told city council to take it down.
The Colorado River filled with deposits of red clay which were eventually used
by Butler to construct bricks for the Paggi House. Bricks were hauled across the
river on a cable (some of the support towers can still be seen on the shores of
Town Lake). Eventually, a city
dump was built on the old brick quarry and then Zilker
Park was developed over it. The pit is still visible along the hike and bike
trail and is marshy and sulfurous. The Butler family finally moved their plant
to Sandy Creek near Elgin because
the soil had more clay. Butler's bricks were used in the construction of City
Hall, the capitol building of 1888, the train depot on Congress Avenue, and the
Board of Trade building.
Barton
Springs: Page 1 - 2
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Where
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Hotels |
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Photo courtesy Chandra Moira Beal, 2001 |
Barton
Springs TE
Editor's Note:
This chapter is the text for pages 27 through 37 of Splash
Accross Texas - courtesy of the book's author, Chandra Moira Beal. Thorough
in research, rich in history, description and recreational information, this engaging
chapter should be read in it's entirety. However, for quick reference for internet
users, we take the liberty of breaking up the chapter by topics ( in sequence
) as follows: About
Barton Springs Sunken
Gardens,1947 Bathhouse, The Environmental DebateMaintenance,
& Endangered Barton Springs salamander Philosopher's
Rock, pecan treeThe
Pool The
Polar Bear Club, Barton Creek Greenbelt, New Trail Barton
Creek Swimming
Holes in Barton CreekZilker
ParkBotanical
Garden, Zilker Zephyr miniature train ride Zilker
Hillside Theatre, Austin Nature Center, McBeth Recreation Center, Beverly Sheffield
Education CenterButler
Brick Company Addendum:
Barton Springs Endangered Salamander
Where to Stay: Austin
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save |
For
more information about Barton Springs,
I highly recommend Barton Springs Eternal, by Turk Pipkin and Marshall Frech;
Softshoe Publishing, The Hill Country Foundation, Austin, Texas, 1993.
Copyright Chandra Moira Beal and La Luna Publishing
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Springs, Page 1
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