The name “Falfurrias” antedates Anglo association with the area, and its derivation is uncertain. Town founder Edward C. Lasater claimed that it was a Lipan word meaning “the land of heart’s delight”. Others believed that it was the Spanish name … Continue reading Ever Wonder Where The Town Of Falfurrias Got It’s Name
This is a 55 minute film clip showing how Austin was in the 1950s and highlighting many of the businesses and places of interest. While 55 minutes may be a long time to sit and watch the whole thing, I’ve found several of the portions that were of most interest to me personally. I will list them below with the approximate time each starts on the film. Twin Oaks Shopping Center – 7:00 min Bergstrom Air Force Base – 18:40 min Bar-K Guest Ranch @ Lago Vista 20:00 min Barton Springs Pool – 24:00 min The Building of the Industrial … Continue reading Austin In The Early 1950s
Travis and Bastrop Counties, and Weatherford, Texas HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) 3/05/2022 — Rocker Steiner may look intimidating in his red leather, but he’s also just a teenager (at the time of this article) on a road trip with his family. If … Continue reading Five Generations Of Steiner’s In The Rodeo Business
In just over 100 years the highways around Austin changed numbers several times. This is a look back to see how much things changed. 1917 Map of Austin 1936 Map of Austin and Central Texas 1936 Map of Austin and Central Texas 1942 Map of Austin 1950 Map of Austin 1954 Map of Austin 1960 Map of Austin 1973 Map of Austin and Central Texas Continue reading Highways In and Out of Austin Throughout the Years.
It was first known as Sigmor, then Sigmor Shamrock, some years later as Diamond Shamrock and finally as Valero. TETCO came in sometime during a spinoff I think. In the beginning they where cheaper than other outlets. The stations were very barebones, with nothing but a small cashier area, restrooms and vending machines for snacks. They were only there to sell gas and oil with not servicing area. I remember it first being a cash only business. When they started taking credit cards, they would take any other companies card, imprint it and write in your address from your driver’s … Continue reading The Sigmor Corporation – San Antonio, Texas
The brick company that has been in Elgin for years, actually started out at Zilker Park in Austin. BY PHOEBE ALLEN Michael Butler & the Butler Brick Legacy Irishman Michael Butler arrived in Austin in 1873 and began manufacturing mud bricks at the foot of East Avenue (now IH-35) on the north bank of the Colorado River. An 1875 flood resulted in his move to the south bank of the Colorado River – between Barton Creek and today’s South First Street and between the river and Barton Springs Road – at brickyards that remained in place until 1958. Butler bricks … Continue reading Butler Bricks – the bricks that built Austin
Back in the 50s and 60s there was a community that I well remember. It was a suburb of Cedar Park. Of course in those days, Cedar Park really wasn’t big enough to have a suburb. Shortly after you turned west on FM 1431 off of US 183 (of course in those days there wasn’t a FM 1431 going east) you would start to see little shanty houses along the highway and out across the railroad track. All the houses were white. Not necessarily painted white, but covered in white dust. The scrub oak trees were all layered with a … Continue reading White Stone – The Forgotten Little Town
Strange how much of it doesn’t look so much different 134 years later. I was informed that Austin White Lime ceased producing products in August 2024 and preparations are being made to get the property ready for its next life. HISTORY – Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. was founded in 1888 as Martin and Walker, with A.F. Martin serving as president and proprietor. Around 1891, the company become officially known as Austin White Lime Company, Ltd. The company quickly gained a reputation for manufacturing quality products and was recognized in prominent publications for that time. The Industrial Advantages of Austin, … Continue reading Austin White Lime – Austin, Texas
Edwin “Ned” deSteiguer Snead(1929 – 2015) (The following is excerpted from his obituary) In 1992, at an age when most men are retiring, Ned created Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX). GREX is a rail services company providing the railroads with specialty equipment and innovative technological products and services to maintain and repair track all over North America. Much of the equipment that GREX uses was invented and patented by Ned, including the DUMP TRAIN, a train that unloads itself by way of a conveyor belt running the length of the train. Also unique to GREX is the SLOT MACHINE, ballast … Continue reading Georgetown Rail Equipment Company (GREX)
This invitation I received was from a few years ago. (6 1/2 years ago) This is a very well run operation. By operating their own railroad, I’ve been told puts them in a very unique and enviable position in the crushed stone industry. When they ship products from their crusher to locales far away on GRR, they collect the lion share of the freight fee (something like 80%) since it is the point of origin. That’s just the way the system is setup. The story as I heard it, Mr. Snead tried to get various rail companies to service them … Continue reading Georgetown Railroad
Angora Chronicles 