Shortly after the civil war, Appalachia came to Austin. Known as the cedar choppers, migrants from the mountains moved into the limestone hills of western Travis County. They kept to themselves, didn’t like outsiders, and loved a good fight. But the city dwellers loved to hunt in the hills. Hunting their game and shooting guns…
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Austin is famous for its music scene. Willie, Waylon, Jerry Jeff and so many others helped Austin become weird. But before any of them there was Kenneth Threadgill. A preacher’s son, Threadgill loved music. He especially loved Jimmie Rogers and his yodel. Threadgill opened a tavern that provided musicians a place to play, and college…
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Right after the civil war, women weren’t really expected (or even thought capable) to be in business. But of course, Texas women proved them wrong. Lizzie Johnson was a school teacher, but she was also a writer and discovered how lucrative the cattle business could be. So she became a cattle baroness and Austin real…
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In June of 1865, Texas was in chaos. Robert E. Lee had just surrendered the Army of Northern of Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. But without a government or functioning economy, it was every man for himself. Many former Confederates were heading for Mexico, while others tried to bring order to chaos. A few…
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Josiah Wilbarger was one of the earliest Anglo settlers of Texas. He also settled way outside the safe boundaries of the frontier. He chose a league of land in the hostile territory of the Comancheria, near present-day Bastrop. He eventually gained a neighbor in Reuben Hornsby but things were still very, very dangerous. One day…
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