Confederate blacksmith settles Jollyville

Confederate blacksmith settles Jollyville

Written by Karen R. Thompson Wednesday, 07 March 2007

John Grey Jolly and Nancy Isabel Eskew married in 1847 in their native state of Tennessee, but soon thereafter they caught Texas Fever, the term for settlers coming to Texas for land.

John and Nancy were living in Merrelltown in 1860 when the census was taken for Travis County. Both are listed as age 34 and John’s occupation as blacksmith.

In 1865, when John returned to Austin following his service to the Confederacy, he wanted to settle in the country. They purchased a couple of hundred acres where they could raise their six daughters, Matt (Mary), Rachel, Emma, Tennessee (Tennie), Jane Deen, and Julia.

They bought land along the Travis and Williamson County line. Their first home was a log cabin with the kitchen added to the back. It wasn’t long before the area became known as Jollyville. John opened a store and blacksmith shop. He was a friendly man, and devoted Methodist. Any time a preacher, especially Methodist, came to the area they were invited to stay at the Jolly home.

In the 1870s and 1880s, this was a popular stagecoach route. If they were lucky, they could make the trip in one day and reach Lampasas before dark. As the stagecoach left Austin, along the Colorado River bend, the driver knew it was uphill to reach the top of the Balcones Escarpment.

The horses could rest when they reached Jollyville and the W. H. Thompson place. [The homestead is now the Red Barn Garden Center, see p. 7] The next possible stop would be Pond Springs, several miles away. But Jollyville was just in the right location for Austin travelers. In those days, Pond Springs and Jollyville were separate communities.

School was important for area children and the Jolly family gave land for the Jollyville School to be built. A one-room wooden schoolhouse was used for first through sixth or seventh grade. One teacher was all that was needed.

In 1895, the school building needed a new roof. Instead of raising taxes, trustees W. H. Thompson and W. Carter circulated a petition through the community asking for cash donations or materials. They got enough roofing material and cash to do the job.

Nearby neighbors in the Jollyville area were the Prewitt, Thorp, Rhoades, Jenkins, and Thompson families. Elisha Prewitt had fought in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21,1836 when Texas gained independence from Mexico. Besides Jolly, W. H. Thompson, Elisha Rhodes, and J. Byron Jenkins were all Confederate veterans. Several men served in World War I, including Charlie Carter, Buddy Prewitt, and John Finis Thompson.

John Jolly died in 1899 at age 74. In 1872 he had given land to start the Jolly Cemetery at 8600 Spicewood Springs Road. That year, Margaret Evergreen Robinson died becoming the first burial in the cemetery. About two dozen are buried in the cemetery, including five Citizens of the Republic of Texas, and Confederate veteran Charlie Strode, the last person to be buried there in 1929.

The passing of Nancy Jolly at age 96 was a blow to the Jollyville community. She had been a mid-wife for many of the 55 years she lived in the area.

With John and Nancy Jolly deceased and school closing, most of the activity in the area was concentrated in Pond Springs. In the 1930s, some businesses were built in the 13000 block of US 183, and this area became known as Jollyville.

The 140-year-old Jolly log house is restored on a private farm near Pflugerville. By the front door of the cabin is a peg where Jolly hung his shotgun, so he could grab it quickly if he needed to.

Thompson’s account of saving the circle tree:

In 1988 Diamond Shamrock [now Valero] announced they were building a gas station at the site of the original property, 8656 Spicewood Springs Road. On the site was a 200-year-old tree with a larger limb that had grown into a circle. Since the tree was so unusual, I showed slides of it in many school history presentations.

I called to see what was to happen to the tree and found out it would be torn down. I made some phone calls and got the Round Rock Leader to write an article. The article ran with a quote across the headline from a Diamond Shamrock vice president, “Tell Mrs. Thompson that trees don’t pay taxes.”

I was irate. I organized letters, posters and got kids to help me march in front of the site with signs. We put notes, ribbons, etc. on the tree. The TV and radio stations picked up the story. Hundreds of people signed a petition to save the tree.

Diamond Shamrock got tired of seeing me on TV, and changed their mind. It cost more than $190,000 to move, but it has been almost 17 years, and the tree is still healthy.

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