Pond Springs first settlement in northwest Austin
Pond Springs first settlement in northwest Austin
Written by Karen R. Thompson Wednesday, 07 February 2007
Today, it is all but impossible to identify the early community of Pond Springs, but that was not always the case.
In 1839, when Austin was laid out, settlers were anxious to go further west into the area that would become Williamson County in 1848.
As settlers left Austin and traveled north up the Balcones Escarpment, one of the first areas to be populated was known as Pond Springs. Abundant water, trees, grass and wildlife made the area desirable.
Pioneer wagon trails gave way to roads and the area of Pond Springs is now basically the stretch along old US 183 from Spicewood Springs Road north to RR 620.
By 1854 a one-room log building was constructed for a schoolhouse, later a wooden building was erected. A better Pond Springs School was built in 1927 at 13401 Pond Springs Road at the intersection of US 183 and Anderson Mill Road.
For taxing purposes, the district was officially Pond Springs Common County Line District. In 1969, after 115 years, Pond Springs School district consolidated with Round Rock Independent School District. Nearby, developer Bill Cotton had been building new homes in a subdivision named Balcones Country Club. A new school was needed, and Round Rock ISD could build facilities much faster. That first school built after consolidation was Spicewood Springs Elementary School. Soon Grisham Middle School was added.
In 1977 a Texas Historical Marker for Pond Springs Community and School was dedicated at the old school site. The marker reads: “After James O. Rice settled in the 1850s near a spring-fed pond, the area was called Pond Springs. By 1854 a log school building was erected near the pond and also served for worship and a social center. Thomas S. Rutledge ran a nearby store, post office and blacksmith shop. After the post office closed in 1880 and the Austin & Northwestern Railroad bypassed Pond Springs in 1882, the community declined.”
About 20 years ago, a new larger Pond Springs School was built at 7825 Elkhorn Mountain Trail, several miles away. This school still serves the area youth and even though it is the fifth building at the third site, Pond Springs School has been in operation for 153 years, making it one of the oldest in Texas. Their mascot name is Pioneers.
A graveyard was begun for members of the Pond Springs Community in the 1860s and shows up in deed records in 1877. It can be seen along Lake Creek Parkway across from Wal-Mart, just south of RM 620. The oldest grave is believed to be that of Mrs. Asenath M. Stewart who died in 1862. Also buried is a Mexican War veteran, William P. Rutledge, Sr. (1815-1890) and Lavinia H. Chapman (1844-1929) a citizen of the Republic of Texas. It first appeared in deed records as a cemetery in 1877 and serves as a reminder of early Pond Springs history.
Several of the Thompson family are buried in the Pond Springs cemetery. Karen and her husband David have helped maintain the cemetery, now surrounded by retail and residential, through volunteer service and donations.
Karen Thompson is a seventh-generation Texan passionate about preserving and recording Texas history. She has written books on Williamson County, Round Rock and Austin. She is manager of archives for Williamson County.
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