HISTORY CENTER ASSOCIATION AustinAustin Remembers.Remembers. “THE COLLECTIVE MEMORY OF AUSTIN & TRAVIS COUNTY” FALL 2014

BY JEFFREY KERR

Ask a friend about Sam One hundred seventy-five Houston’s contributions to years have passed since gov- history and you’re ernment agent Edwin Waller likely to receive a lengthy arrived at Waterloo in May reply. “Sam Houston, he was 1839 with 200 workers and President of Texas,” your a wagon train full of supplies. friend will tell you. “He de- Over the next five months feated Santa Anna and the he directed his men as they Mexicans at San Jacinto.” platted the town, cleared You might also hear about the streets, and erected the Houston the United States public buildings necessary Senator from Texas, or Gov- for operation of the Repub- ernor Houston, forced out lic’s government. Those men of office over his refusal to and women, black, white and support secession. brown, endured Indian at- Ask that same person PICB 04207b, , PICB 05043, Austin HIstory Center, tacks, Mexican patrols, bland . Sam Houston. Austin Public Library. Mirabeau B. Lamar about Mirabeau Lamar and food, supply shortages, and you’ll probably receive a blank stare. Oh, your friend will know mind-numbing boredom as they labored in the summer heat. When that Lamar was an early Texas big shot. After all, what Austinite a Bastrop County judge (Travis County did not yet exist) condemned hasn’t danced at the Broken Spoke, eaten at the original Thread- Waterloo’s land, that nascent hamlet went out of existence. By law gill’s, or shopped at Book People, all of which and more lie along the new city was named in honor of EMBATTLED... PAGE 5 O Austin’s longest street, Lamar Boulevard? But what did Mirabeau Lamar actually do? “Uh . . . .” Both Mirabeau Lamar and Sam Houston played major roles Maxson to Put Focus in the founding of Austin but it is Lamar, not Houston, to whom we music-loving, weird-keeping, orange-bleeding residents owe a on Preservation at Annual debt of gratitude. When he assumed the Texas presidency in 1838, Lamar knew precisely where he wanted to place the new seat of Angelina Eberly Luncheon government. “This should be the seat of future empire!” he had Under similar circumstances, he might have earned the moniker Dr. No, declared weeks earlier from atop the hill on which the Capitol now but Peter Flagg Maxson had a more deft way of enforcing his high sits. Sam Houston thought the upper Colorado too remote. From standards for excellence in historically significant architecture: his seat in Congress he fought vigorously against Austin’s place- “Unfortunately, not every fine old home is appropriate for listing on the ment at Waterloo, the settlement displaced by the new capital. National Register of Historic Places.” After he succeeded Lamar as chief executive, Houston responded Maxson should know. During the last 40 years, he has carved out a to two brief Mexican army occupations of San Antonio by ordering career as the premier voice in historical architecture in Texas, a go-to government out of Austin for Washington-on-the-Brazos. Not long guy for determining whether a home, building, or other property has after Lamar’s triumphant 1839 entry into the city which he helped what it takes to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places or create, Houston grumbled to a friend, “This is the most unfortu- graced with a Texas Historical Marker. Through his work in the field of nate site upon Earth for the seat of government.” historical architecture, Maxson has been PROFILE... PAGE 6 E From the Archivist We recently received word that an Austin History Center grant application to the Texas State Library & Archives Commission has been recommended for funding. This is a $20,000 grant to process the Niles-Graham-Pease Papers (AR.A.001) and will be coupled with a $35,000 Austin History Center Association, Inc. 810 Guadalupe gift from the Austin History Center Association to allow the AHC to hire a one-year project ar- Austin, Texas 78701 chivist to process and catalog the collection, and digitize selected pieces from the collection. 512.270.0132 Regular readers will note that the Pease papers project comes up frequently. The papers www.austinhistory.net were the first major acquisition of the AHC and transformed it from a small, local history ref- erence collection into a collecting archive. To this day the papers remain the AHC’s flagship Mailing address: P. O. Box 2287 collection, but it has not always been the easiest to use. The Pease family, through the de- Austin, Texas 78768 scendants of R. Niles Graham, first made a donation to the AHC in 1959, primarily letters and documents that were housed in the Pease Mansion () in Enfield. Through the years, the family has made many more donations of materials that, through time, had been scattered The mission of the Austin History to various homes. These later donations have included a substantial amount of letters from Center Association is to help the family members in Connecticut. Additionally, over the last 5 years, the AHC has purchased community value our past and build other caches of Pease-related papers, some with the assistance of the AHCA. Over the years, a better future - by supporting the the multiple purchases and donations have Austin History Center to achieve resulted in a hodgepodge of inventories and excellence in its efforts to serve as catalogs, a setup that makes it difficult the collective memory of Austin and for researchers to find what they need. By Travis County. the fall of 2015, we should finally have a comprehensive inventory of the collection. I am very excited to finally bring this collec- BOARD OF DIRECTORS tion full circle and make the treasure trove EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of historic papers – relevant to both Austin Beth Fowler - President and Texas – more accessible to enthusiasts Robert Sullivan - First Vice President and scholars. Ken Tiemann - Second Vice President Now, I’d like to share a little bit about two C00393, Russell Chalberg Collection, Austin History Terrell Blodgett - Treasurer upcoming exhibits – a sneak preview if you Center, Austin Public Library. Congress Avenue, ca. Geoff Wool - Secretary will. First, as Dr. Kerr so eloquently describes 1866. The flagpole was sometimes called Union Pole Evan Taniguchi - Immed. Past President as unionists in Austin would hoist the Union flag on it in the feature story for this issue, Austin is during the war. Patsy Stephenson - Member-at-Large about to celebrate its Terquasquicentennial, DIRECTORS AT LARGE or 175th birthday, in December. To commemorate, we will have an exhibit in the David Earl Monte Akers - Charles Betts Holt Photo Gallery, opening on September 30 and running through March 22, 2015. Cindy Brandimarte Next up in the Great Hall and Lobby is an exhibit all about Austin during the Civil War Liz Bremond - Linda Bush and Reconstruction. Not really a commemoration but more of a remembrance, this exhibit is Lynn Cooksey - Adam Friedman timed to coincide with the close of the Civil War Sesquicentennial (2011-2015). While no Robert Godwin - Brooks Goldsmith military battles were fought here, the events and issues leading up to the war, the war itself, Becky Heiser - Mary Ann Heller and its aftermath definitely affected Austin, and in some cases, were affected by Austin. This Rita Kreisle - Kathleen Davis Niendorff is especially true when looking at the impact slavery and emancipation had on the community, Charles Peveto - Candace Volz Anne Wheat with roughly a third of the wartime population of Travis County comprised of slaves. In some Mike Miller, AHC Archivist ways that history serves as a lens through which we, as current members of the community, view each other today. The exhibit will offer a peek into the daily life and struggles of Austi- AUSTIN HISTORY CENTER nites contending with the effects of the war. It’s not an easy past to remember, and in many ASSOCIATION STAFF ways not one to celebrate, but it is definitely a critical part of our past that must be remem- Jeff Cohen - Executive Director bered and one from which we must learn. By providing a glimpse of the lives of the people Allison Supancic - Office Manager who lived in Austin at this time, rich and poor, free and enslaved, famous and “average,” through pictures and their own words, exhibit visitors will leave with a better understanding of Austin Remembers. the realities of the time, at least as they existed here, and how some of those issues continue to affect us today. The exhibit opens on December 2 and runs through May 17, 2015. Beth Fowler - Editor/Creative Director Clutch Creative - Layout & Design Geoff Wool - Public Relations Jim Innes, Robert Godwin, Anne Wheat - Photographers 2 New to the AHC Newly Digitized Though we continue to struggle with space issues, the march of history continues, and we have added a few interesting items to the Austin Collection History Center collection since the last newsletter. As part of a grant project with the Portal to Texas History, the Aus- Perhaps the most significant acquisition, and certainly the largest, tin History Center recently digitized several hundred photographs is the Dewey Mears photo archive. Mears was a professional photogra- included in the Bergstrom-Austin Community Council Records. pher in Austin from 1945 to 2000, and he worked primarily on com- The photographs document more than five decades of history of mercial projects and architectural photography. The collection is rich , originally known as Del Valle Air Base, in architectural photographs documenting Austin’s growth during this from its early days in the 1940s until its closing in 1993. time period. The collection is quite sizeable – over 100 cubic feet of The squadrons stationed at BAFB participated in the Berlin original negatives and prints – and it will take some time to process Airlift during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the Gulf these images and make them available. War, and other tactical and reconnaissance missions. The photo- The AHC recently acquired the poster collection of George Kane, graphs in this collection depict the buildings on the base, includ- the owner of Treasured Tracs, a music store in the Westgate Mall that ing the headquarters, hospitals, housing units, offices, lounges, sold used records/tapes/CDs and music related ephemera. Kane’s and warehouses (all of which, except the headquarters, have since collection includes hundreds of posters of local musicians and venues been destroyed); personnel in formal portraits and candid scenes, as well as posters of other events around town. Kane, who now lives including flight crews, officers, maintenance workers, office work- in New York, has promised to send more as he unearths materials ers, and families; aircraft in flight and at base including Phan- from storage. tom F-4s and C-47s; and other scenes of base activities including The AHC also acquired a significant addition to the Shudde Fath drills, ceremonies, and festivals. Papers (AR.2001.004). Fath is a long time member of the City of Some famous visitors also seen in the photographs include Austin Utility Commission and a well-known environmentalist. This Queen Elizabeth II, the Crown Prince of Iran Reza Palahvi, astro- addition to the collection includes all the records she had related nauts Sally Ride and Bob Crippen, President Richard Nixon, and to the founding of the Save Association and her role then-Vice President George H. W. Bush. as its treasurer. Though the collection is not yet processed, it came The photographs also document the closure of the base and its to us fairly well organized. transformation into Austin’s municipal airport in the 1990s. Among the more interesting donations is a collection of materi- More than 250 photographs from the collection are available online als from Casey Monahan. He has been both a music writer and re- through the Portal to Texas History at search analyst for the Austin American Statesman, and has pub- http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?fq=untl_collection:BAFB. lished over 400 articles and images documenting the music scene The finding aid for the collection is available through Texas Archival in Austin. His publications have appeared in Southwestern Histori- Resources Online at cal Quarterly, Rolling Stone, Music Library Association Notes, the http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/aushc/00365/ahc-00365.html. •  Public Library New York Times, Pulse, Texas Monthly, Southwest Spirit, Third Coast, image shows an ad from one of the issues. in Austin that apparently garnered attention from the FBI. This The Rag, Periodicals Collection, Austin History Center, Austin the Dallas Morning News, and the Austin Chronicle. This donation from Monahan consists of two boxes of materials produced by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, covering a period from 1966-1975

when the FBI was conducting surveillance of the alternative under- The Rag ground Austin publication The Rag. The materials include photocop-

ies of The Rag, correspondence between FBI offices, and memos. was a popular underground newspaper

NEWLY PROCESSED COLLECTIONS— AHC Processing Archivist Molly Hults and staff have been very busy processing and cataloging collections. Here are a few recently completed: AR.1994.028 – Peter Heinrich Mansbendel Papers. Peter Heinrich Mansbendel was born in Basel, Switzerland, on August 12, 1883, to businessman Johann Peter Mansbendel and Valeria Siegrist Mansbendel. At age 10, Mansbendel began an internship in woodcarving, which he followed with studies at the Industrial Arts School. In 1907, Mansbendel immigrated to America, first living in Boston and then in New York, where he worked two jobs – woodcarving for an interior design firm during the day, and teaching clay-modeling classes at night. NEW TO AHC... PAGE 4 �S

3 C10850, Russell Chalberg Photo Collection, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. An example of Peter Mansbendel's carving. His handiwork is evident in the door and window trim around the History Center.

�S...NEW TO AHC In his studio, Mansbendel met Clotilde Shipe, AR.2014.008 - Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America, Prince Hill who had recently returned from a trip to Europe. Clotilde’s father, Lodge No. 9556 Ledger. Monroe M. Shipe, was a prominent Austin real estate developer The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, a mutual aid fraternal organi- who founded Hyde Park. Mansbendel followed Ms. Shipe to Austin, zation, was established in America in 1843 by free African American where they were married in 1912. They had two children, Valerie men in New York. The group had wanted to establish an Independent and Peter. Mansbendel worked in his studio at the former Swedish Order of Odd Fellows lodge but the nearly all-white Odd Fellows lodges consulate at 109 W. 9th Street until his health declined in 1939. in America identified themselves with the Independent Order of Odd His papers consist of photographs of many of his wood carvings, as Fellows and refused to grant the African American men a charter. With well as drawings that he made. Also included are photographs of the the assistance of Peter Ogden, a black man who traveled between New Hyde Park neighborhood in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. York and Liverpool as a ship steward, the African American men ob- The collection inventory is available at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ tained a charter from an English lodge and the Grand United Order of aushc/00417/ahc-00417.html. Odd Fellows Philomathean Lodge, No. 645 was established in New York City. The emphasis of the organization was charity, benevolence, AR.2004.037 - Black Citizens Task Force Records. morality and temperance. The practical benefits of membership in- The Black Citizens Task Force was a grassroots political organization cluded defraying expenses of burial, sickness, disability and widow- founded in 1972 by Austin citizens that included Dr. John Warfield, hood. The number of lodges in the United States increased rapidly former City Council member Charles Urdy, Velma Roberts, Larry Jack- and it is estimated that 300,000 to 400,000 members were actively son, Charles Miles and others. The task force existed primarily between participating in the organization by the end of the 19th century. The the 1970s and early 2000s and sought to combat racism against the Prince Hill Lodge No. 9556 was the local Austin chapter of the or- African American community. Dorothy Turner joined the organization in ganization, and this ledger documents membership and amounts of 1974 and became its president in 1979. She was the longest-tenured contributions made by each member from from 1914 to 1930. president and last person to hold the title. The recipient of various The collection inventory is available online at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ awards, Turner was an outspoken proponent of civil rights for the under- taro/aushc/00395/ahc-00395.html. privileged, minorities and women. The collection, which covers the years 1979-2004, consists mainly of organizational records during Turner’s AR.2014.017 - Austin (Tex.). Parks and Recreation Department Photo presidency and includes correspondence, programs, printed material, Negative Collection. clippings, research material, photographs and audiovisual material. The collection contains 5,002 medium format black and white nega- The collection inventory is available at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ tives that document the programs, activities, participants, and facili- aushc/00391/ahc-00391.html. ties of the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department from 1917 to 1970. The bulk of the negatives span from 1928 to 1970. The im- AR.2009.042 – Wukasch & Associates Records and Drawings. ages in the collection include many of the PARD programs and activi- J. Eugene Wukasch, born in Austin in 1921, graduated from The ties, such as the annual kite-flying tournament that became the Zilker University of Texas with a degree in architecture (B.S.Ar.E) in 1943. Kite Festival. Negatives also show athletic events, holiday festivities, After working with several architectural firms, he established his recreation and parks facilities and PARD staff. There are many photo- own practice 1953 which would eventually become Wukasch & As- graphs of segregated facilities and events for African Americans. These sociates, AIA, PE, Architect and Consultants. The collection con- include the Negro War Council, basketball games and beauty pageants. tains extensive project files and architectural drawings for Austin/ The majority of photos were taken at Rosewood Park and also capture Travis County projects as well as a limited amount of office files images of the annual Christmas program, Easter egg hunts, Juneteenth and materials related to Wukasch’s involvement with several Aus- celebrations, classes and dances. tin/Travis County civic organizations dating from 1926 to 1995. An inventory of the collection is available online at: http://www.lib.utexas. The collection inventory is available at: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/ edu/taro/aushc/00409/ahc-00409.html. • aushc/00392/ahc-00392.html. 4 O...EMBATTLED Stephen F. Austin. Some early residents used the term “Austin City,” but soon it was just “Austin.” Almost immediately after the opening of the Fourth Congress in October 1839, Rep- resentative Sam Houston introduced legisla- tion to move the seat of Texas government back to Houston. There is a common modern misperception that Sam acted thus because he wanted the capital in his namesake city. Nothing in his speeches or writings supports this view. In fact, Houston the man dis- liked the hardships of Houston the city just as much as everyone else. Muddy or dusty streets, the foul-tasting water of Buffalo Bay- ou, thick clouds of mosquitoes, and enervat- ing humidity combined to sour even the Hero of San Jacinto on the Allen brothers’ creation. PICB 07906, Austin HIstory Center, Austin Public Library. Angelina Eberly firing the cannon in the Archives War. Then, as now, the city of Houston’s appeal lay with financial rather than aesthetic advantages. Sam Houston pushed armed force approaching his territory, proved a Mexican patriot. He to keep the capital somewhere in the eastern, settled portion of the saw not a peaceful trade mission, but an armed invasion from a na- country because he thought it cheaper and safer. He also emphasized tion that was still technically at war with his own. When the starving, that the law that brought government to Houston in 1837 explicitly exhausted Texans reached the vicinity of Santa Fe, Armijo’s soldiers stated that it would remain through 1840. Sam Houston sought to pro- captured the entire mission without a shot being fired. The Texans tect the financial interests of those who had spent money on Houston’s were placed in chains and marched on foot to Mexico City. infrastructure on the basis of this “promise.” Such men formed the News of the disaster reached Austin about the time of Sam Hous- nucleus of Sam Houston’s political base. ton’s return to the presidency. Although he had stated repeatedly dur- Mirabeau Lamar had a grander vision. When he had declaimed ing the campaign that he had no intention of removing government about a “seat of empire,” that is precisely what he meant. Lamar en- from Austin, months after his inauguration he responded to two brief visioned a day when the Republic of Texas would stretch to the Pacific Mexican army occupations of San Antonio by doing just that. Aus- Ocean. The first step toward realizing that dream would be the incor- tin’s angry citizens couldn’t prevent the departure of Congress and poration of New Mexico, then a Mexican territory, into the Republic. most of the government departments. Within weeks a bustling city To achieve that, Lamar intended to divert the rich trade that then of 1000 souls became a near ghost town of 200 stubborn people. passed between Santa Fe and American east coast markets. This Austinites did manage to prevent the departure of the Land laborious journey involved an overland trip from Santa Fe to St. Louis, Office and its head, Thomas William “Pegleg” Ward. More impor- where goods were transferred to riverboats for an upstream cruise to tantly, by searching all wagons leaving the city, they kept the de- Washington, New York, Philadelphia, and other prominent cities. The partment’s archives from leaving. President Houston cried treason; expensive trek took months and cut significantly into profits. Lamar the people of Austin and their “Archives Committee” responded figured upon steering the Santa Fe wagons to Austin, where barges with a collective shrug. would float downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. From there, fast sail- Houston sent William “Buck” Pettus and John Hall to bring ing ships would take the goods to the east coast of the United States. the archives out. The men foolishly loaded the records onto wagons in Lamar and his supporters deluded themselves with several mis- full view of the populace before retiring for the night. When they awoke calculations. Not only did they significantly underestimate the dis- the next morning they were greeted by an angry mob. Rifles, pistols, tance between Austin and Santa Fe, they also believed tales told by knives and a loaded cannon persuaded the two to leave empty-handed, American merchants of numerous watering holes along a well-marked but not before someone had insulted them in 19th-century fashion by trail as well as west Texas grasslands that would provide ample fodder shaving the tails and manes of their horses. For years thereafter Austin for livestock. They discounted the threat posed by Indians altogether. was known as “Shave Tail Country." Lamar believed the could be turned into a navigable Wishing to avoid bloodshed, President Houston lay low for a few waterway between Austin and the gulf coast. Finally, he accepted weeks before sending another pair of men, Eli Chandler and Thomas claims that New Mexico Governor Manuel Armijo would jump at the Smith, to do his dirty work. These two recruited a force of about twenty chance to betray his country and accept Texan rule. to assist them, but lied about the nature of the mission by telling the Every one of Lamar’s beliefs proved wrong. Thus, the Santa Fe men they would be patrolling for hostile Indians. On December 31, Expedition he sent to New Mexico in 1841 proved an utter disaster. 1841, with Austin cleared of fighting men because someone had rung A late start, shortage of food and water, Indian attacks, and a few the Indian alarm bell on Congress Avenue, the government men arrived wrong turns doomed the mission. Governor Armijo, warned of the at the Land Office at 8th and Congress EMBATTLED... PAGE 7 O

5 E... PROFILE responsible for breathing new life into Texas Act, ushering in a new structure for historical preservation in America, landmarks such as the Sam Bell Maxey House in Paris, the Fulton and establishing historic preservation offices in each state. At the Mansion in Rockport, and Austin’s Hyde Park neighborhood; while University of Virginia, Maxson found one of the few graduate-level protecting them with national, state, and local historic designations. programs in historic preservation and after four additional years of In early 2015 at the , itself a nationally-recognized school, he returned to Texas with a Master’s degree in that field. During historic landmark, Maxson will headline the annual Angelina Eberly the late 1970s, he would work three years in the Historic Sites and Luncheon (Friday, January 23, 2015), benefiting the Austin History Restoration unit of Texas Parks and Wildlife and in 1981, move to the Center Association. Maxson will lead a discussion by “The Austin Texas Historical Commission, where he would eventually oversee the Renovators,” a group of celebrated preservationists who have been nomination of Texas buildings and districts to the National Register of responsible for protecting and preserving Historic Places and employ the “not every some of Austin’s most historically significant fine old home” rationale to make sure the buildings and neighborhoods, keeping alive properties from Texas that were considered, the look and vibe of our city by weaving its were worthy of the designation. After leaving past throughout the growth, as Austin, Texas state service in 1989, Maxson continued to became “Austin” in the 21st Century. consult with property owners seeking historic Maxson himself is a treasured native son designation and today is still active in of Texas. Growing up in Dallas in the 1950s, preservation work in Austin, serving on the the product of blue-blood lineage, Maxson Travis County Historical Commission among was drawn to English genealogy and other boards. classic buildings at an early age. His Despite his early tendencies to favor grandparents, Everette Lee and Nell Victorian or Greek Revival architecture, DeGolyer, built Rancho Encinal, a Spanish Maxson’s contemporaries say he recognizes Colonial Revival home on a 43-acre estate the effect time has on what’s considered overlooking White Rock Lake, where historically significant. Charles Peveto, a Grandmother DeGolyer encouraged young member of the Austin History Center Peter’s interest in architecture and the Association board, board president of decorative arts. East Coast and European PICA 30422, Austin History Center, Austin Public MidTexMod and a long-time friend of Maxson, architectural influences were a consistent Library. Peter Maxson – May 1999 recently helped secure National Register of thread as Maxson grew up. In a 1992 oral history interview with Dan Historic Places and Recorded Texas Historic Landmark designations K. Utley, Maxson told of his fascination with Audrey Eleanor Theresa for Austin’s , designed in the early 1960’s by Edward Mills-Wright Price, an aristocratic Englishwoman who was friends with Durell Stone. his mother and a Parson’s School of Design-trained interior decorator. “Peter’s facilitated preservation his whole life and has helped save a “I rejoiced in gossiping with her about Palladian architecture,” lot of historically significant buildings in ,” Peveto said. Maxson said. “There was nobody else in the world, certainly not “I think a lot of people assume Peter’s interest is limited to early among my peers, that I could talk to about such things. I had been architecture, and that’s just not true. He is very knowledgeable about given one or two books on architecture earlier, but Audrey really recent past and mid-century and had a keen interest when we were encouraged my interest there, gave me other books and was really getting our national historic designations for the Westgate Tower. He’s very helpful.” very knowledgeable about architects from that recent past period.” As he got older, Maxson would put pencil to paper to practice In fact, Peveto says, the emphasis now in preservation circles is in his passion. restoring and protecting buildings and neighborhoods that were “As a teenager in Dallas, I loved drawing floor plans,” Maxson developed in the middle of the 20th century. Maxson, like other recalled, “and I would get sort of large 18 by 24 inch tablets with renovators, is concerned about losing the historic fabric of Austin that probably 25 sheets in them, and I probably filled a hundred of those others may see as just old and outdated. taking existing houses of interest that I would find in magazines or “Time evolves,” Peveto said. “Every period you look at when books, and I would draw floor plans and rearrange things.” structures started to get 35 to 40 years old, every generation wanted to After graduating from St. Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas, Maxson’s tear those down. Everyone considered those structures ugly. And that’s passion took him to Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The what’s happening with much of our recent past. Ten or 20 years from campus, with its old, established families and High Victorian Gothic now people will ask, ‘Why did we let that go?’” architecture, broadened Maxson’s historic perspective. Later in life, If preservationists like Peveto and Maxson have their way, Austin Maxson, along with his partner, Jack Taylor, would make a $100,000 won’t be letting those go, at least not without a fight, as they work to life income gift to the college to create a new endowed fund to help integrate the past with the present, as Austin evolves in the 21st century. finance future restorations of Trinity’s Long Walk buildings. To learn more about the 2015 Angelina Eberly Luncheon and “The While Maxson was attending classes at Trinity, there was a growing Renovators” who will be sharing stories of past successes and the concern about preserving significant pieces of America’s past. In 1966, preservation challenges that lie ahead, visit the Austin History Center the United States Congress passed the National Historic Preservation Association website at www.austinhistory.net. •

6 O...EMBATTLED and began loading the archives onto wagons. This stirred the interest of several townspeople gathered at Bullock’s Hotel at 6th and Congress. After one of their number was brusquely told that the activity at the Land Office was none of his business, the Austinites rolled their cannon into the middle of Congress Av- enue. Someone shouted, “Blow the old house to pieces!” and Ange- lina Eberly applied the spark that sent a round of grapeshot flying up the avenue. This successfully chased the interlopers out of town but becomebecome aa membermember not before they had finished loading the archives. A mob of infuri- ated Austinites organized pursuit. Help promote community awareness On New Year’s Day 1842, Smith, Chandler, and their men awoke and use of the Austin History Center. in their camp on Brushy Creek to find themselves surrounding by armed, angry men. Angelina Eberly’s cannon had made the trip and Visit austinhistory.net or email [email protected] sat pointed at the government camp. During a parlay between the two sides, Smith and Chandler’s men realized they had been duped. to receive more information about the benefits They declared they had volunteered to fight Indians, not fellow An- of membership or to purchase gift certificates. glos, and that they were therefore going home. The triumphant Aus- tin men hauled the archives back to the city, where they enjoyed a Fill in the application below and mail with your payment to: spontaneous barbecue on Congress Avenue. Austin History Center Association, Inc. That action likely saved Austin from a slow death. Sam Houston P.O. Box 2287, Austin TX, 78768 threw in the towel and made no further effort to extract the archives. After annexation in 1845 Houston’s successor Anson Jones de- MEMBER INFORMATION Please check one: clared that the first Texas state legislature would convene in Austin. New Member One of that congress’s first acts was to call for statewide referen- Date Renewing Member dums in 1850 and 1870 that would settle the seat of government Name question once and for all. Austin won both times. Today it is difficult to imagine the Texas capital as being anywhere Email Phone but here. One looks at the bustling populace, enormous buildings, Address beautiful riverfront, and yes, even the snarled traffic and imagines that it was all destiny. Nothing, however, was certain in those early City State Zip tumultuous days. But for a few twists and turns of fate Washington- on-the-Brazos could be the 11th largest city in the United States, MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES (Check one) from which its citizens would drive to the Austin State Historical Site to view a replica of the early wooden capitol building sitting in a Eberly Brigade $1,842 per year field of wildflowers. Now that would be weird. Happy 175th, Austin! Pease Society $1,000 per year Jeffrey Kerr has written three books on Austin history. His most recent, Seat of Empire: The Embattled Birth of Austin, Texas Archivist $500 per year (Texas Tech Press, 2013) received the Summerfield G. Roberts Curator $250 per year Award from the Sons of the Republic of Texas as the year’s best work of literature about the Republic. • Collector $100 per year

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PICA 01079, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. Photo of a painting Destroy card information after transaction of Austin in 1840. Keep card information on file 7 You Need to Get Out More BY GEOFF WOOL Neither television, nor film, nor live theater could match the entertain- ment value when two of Austin’s most esteemed political leaders – and greatest storytellers – came together at the Austin History Center the evening of June 11. As part of the AHC’s exhibit “Backwards in High Heels: Getting Women Elected, 1842-1990,” former State Representative Wilhelmina Delco and former Austin Mayor Carole Keeton reminisced about how they got their start in politics, what inspired their years of public service and what it took to blaze a trail for women who aspire to high political office. While you might have missed hearing Delco and Keeton trade stories, both are well-represented in the exhibit, “Backwards in High Heels,” Former Austin Mayor Carole Keeton (right) and former State Representative Wilhelmina Delco which is free and open to the public in the lobby of the Austin History share memories of a 1978 Parade Magazine cover photo featuring the two along with other high- Center. The exhibit runs until October 5. • ranking women in Texas.

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