I was in Austin over the weekend, and I really wanted to make a day trip to Lake Buchanan to check out the once-submerged ghost town of Old Bluffton. It just wasn't in the cards this time around, but Associated Press reporters were able to visit the site for a news story. Next time I'm in the Austin area, no more excuses - I'm heading to Old Bluffton, and you know I'll be more than happy to share pictures with you.
The AP article also covers efforts by the Army Corps of Engineers to curtail looting of Native American sites at Lake Whitney that have long been submerged. I condemn the theft of artifacts from these sites, and if by any chance you did remove some of these relics from the Lake Whitney area, what were you thinking? It's the same as if someone ransacked your family plot in search of jewelry or maybe a few gold teeth. Enough, already. My only interest in the Lake Whitney area is in the remains of the submerged ghost town of Towash, nothing more. (D.S., please e-mail me when you can - tried to reach you without success.)
Showing posts with label Towash. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Towash. Show all posts
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Towash (Hill County) - August 2011 photos
First, a little extra history about outlaw John Wesley Hardin's infamous Christmas gunfight at Towash from the folks at The History Channel's website:
On Christmas Day in 1869, he went to the tiny town of Towash, Texas, seeking some holiday companionship and a good game of cards. Hardin apparently lost his happy holiday spirit when he argued with a man named James Bradley over a card hand. The confrontation escalated, and the men agreed to settle the dispute in a classic street face-off. Though such showdowns--or walkdowns, as they were sometimes called--were far less common than western books and movies suggest, they did occasionally occur, particularly among southern gunmen who continued to embrace the ideal of the gentlemen's duel. Late in the day, the two men faced each other in a deserted Towash street. Bradley shot at Hardin but missed. Hardin killed Bradley with bullets to the head and chest.
As stated earlier on this blog, the site of Towash was permanently inundated by Lake Whitney in 1951, never to surface again for the next 60 years. And now, photos from the lost ghost town of Towash:
Historical Marker for Towash at Lake Whitney State Park, near what is possibly the largest collection of underwater ruins of the town
Towash Baptist Church in nearby Whitney, TX, built partially with materials from the old Towash site and still in use
Tombstone of Simpson Cash Dyer, one of the town fathers of Towash, responsible for the town's gristmill and wool-carding machine; stone and grave relocated to Whitney, TX
Wooden foundations of a small house or shack in Towash, recently emerging from Lake Whitney as a result of the 2011 drought
Remains of a long-submerged road through Towash, uncovered by the 2011 drought
Enigmatic stone block sunk into the sandy soil at Towash, uncovered by the 2011 drought
An utterly alien landscape of stumps of dead trees at the Towash site, uncovered by the 2011 drought
Will these be the only secrets of Towash that Lake Whitney yields? Possibly, but the current elevation of Lake Whitney as of 6:15pm Sunday evening (local time) is only 317.44 feet above sea level - it's supposed to be about 16 feet higher than that. As it is, however, the folks living at the lake are having to battle some fierce wildfires, and I'm in no mood to brave either the flames or more quicksand, so unless water levels drop even further, this may be all I can discover. But I could be wrong.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I had rediscovering at least a few small pieces of the underwater ghost town of Towash!
On Christmas Day in 1869, he went to the tiny town of Towash, Texas, seeking some holiday companionship and a good game of cards. Hardin apparently lost his happy holiday spirit when he argued with a man named James Bradley over a card hand. The confrontation escalated, and the men agreed to settle the dispute in a classic street face-off. Though such showdowns--or walkdowns, as they were sometimes called--were far less common than western books and movies suggest, they did occasionally occur, particularly among southern gunmen who continued to embrace the ideal of the gentlemen's duel. Late in the day, the two men faced each other in a deserted Towash street. Bradley shot at Hardin but missed. Hardin killed Bradley with bullets to the head and chest.
As stated earlier on this blog, the site of Towash was permanently inundated by Lake Whitney in 1951, never to surface again for the next 60 years. And now, photos from the lost ghost town of Towash:
Historical Marker for Towash at Lake Whitney State Park, near what is possibly the largest collection of underwater ruins of the town
Towash Baptist Church in nearby Whitney, TX, built partially with materials from the old Towash site and still in use
Tombstone of Simpson Cash Dyer, one of the town fathers of Towash, responsible for the town's gristmill and wool-carding machine; stone and grave relocated to Whitney, TX
Wooden foundations of a small house or shack in Towash, recently emerging from Lake Whitney as a result of the 2011 drought
Remains of a long-submerged road through Towash, uncovered by the 2011 drought
Enigmatic stone block sunk into the sandy soil at Towash, uncovered by the 2011 drought
An utterly alien landscape of stumps of dead trees at the Towash site, uncovered by the 2011 drought
Will these be the only secrets of Towash that Lake Whitney yields? Possibly, but the current elevation of Lake Whitney as of 6:15pm Sunday evening (local time) is only 317.44 feet above sea level - it's supposed to be about 16 feet higher than that. As it is, however, the folks living at the lake are having to battle some fierce wildfires, and I'm in no mood to brave either the flames or more quicksand, so unless water levels drop even further, this may be all I can discover. But I could be wrong.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I had rediscovering at least a few small pieces of the underwater ghost town of Towash!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Yet another occupational hazard
Quicksand.
While tromping around on the newly-expanded shores of Lake Whitney this weekend in search of more remains of the ghost town of Towash, yours truly stepped on what looked like relatively stable ground in a lakeside mud pit, only to watch his left leg sink up to his knee in quicksand in less than a second.
All is well - I remembered the "what to do" checklist in case of quicksand and freed myself from the liquified soil. Suddenly, I was done with exploring for the day.
I share this with you as a precaution for anyone who wants to go exploring ghost towns. Some of these vanished communities are located in out-of-the-way places that are home to rough terrain, poisonous spiders and snakes, and the occasional pool of quicksand. If you decide to go exploring, be prepared, be well-equipped - and be careful.
PS - Towash site photos coming soon, I promise!
While tromping around on the newly-expanded shores of Lake Whitney this weekend in search of more remains of the ghost town of Towash, yours truly stepped on what looked like relatively stable ground in a lakeside mud pit, only to watch his left leg sink up to his knee in quicksand in less than a second.
All is well - I remembered the "what to do" checklist in case of quicksand and freed myself from the liquified soil. Suddenly, I was done with exploring for the day.
I share this with you as a precaution for anyone who wants to go exploring ghost towns. Some of these vanished communities are located in out-of-the-way places that are home to rough terrain, poisonous spiders and snakes, and the occasional pool of quicksand. If you decide to go exploring, be prepared, be well-equipped - and be careful.
PS - Towash site photos coming soon, I promise!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Submerged ghost town of Towash at Lake Whitney - LAKE LEVEL UPDATE
You may not have heard of the ghost town of Towash, and you'll have a lot of difficulty finding it on even the most detailed of county maps - and for good reason. The entire site of Towash is submerged beneath the waters of Lake Whitney, approximately 15 miles west of Hillsboro in Hill County.
From the Texas State Historical Association website:
Prominent among the newly arrived settlers were brothers Simpson Cash Dyer and James Harrison Dyer, who in 1854 received permission from state authorities to construct a stone dam on the Brazos River at Towash to power a gristmill. In 1860 the Dyers added a wool-carding machine to their water-driven industrial plant. During the early years of the Civil War, women reportedly traveled from as far as 100 miles away to have wool carded at Towash for use in clothing and blankets for Confederate soldiers. A flood destroyed the dam in 1863, but it apparently was rebuilt and a cotton gin established by 1866, the year in which a local post office began operating. This post office closed in 1881, reopened in 1899, and closed permanently two years later. Between 1860 and 1870 Towash had a number of stores and wagonyards, a blacksmith shop, and a ferryboat system.
When the Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Whitney in 1951, the remains of Towash (which was prone to the occasional catastrophic flood) were completely inundated, and remain so to this very day.
Well, sort of.
According to the US Geological Survey, as of 8:15pm CDT on Thursday, August 25, 2011, the water levels at Lake Whitney have dropped to 518.22 feet above sea level. Normal elevation for Lake Whitney is 533 feet, indicating that the 2011 drought in Texas has dropped the elevation of Lake Whitney by some 15 feet overall. The drought is obviously hurting the lakeside communities and businesses in the area - but from my own brief explorations of the Lake Whitney shores, it appears to be uncovering a few of the ruins from the townsite of Towash. Photos will be made available soon.
If you have any desire to visit Lake Whitney in order to seek out the remnants of Towash, now is the time. The current water levels at Lake Whitney are the lowest they have been in decades, and are not expected to remain this low for much longer. Just remember the basics: stay hydrated, dress sensibly, don't trespass, and take lots of photos. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rediscover a vanished piece of Texas history.
From the Texas State Historical Association website:
Prominent among the newly arrived settlers were brothers Simpson Cash Dyer and James Harrison Dyer, who in 1854 received permission from state authorities to construct a stone dam on the Brazos River at Towash to power a gristmill. In 1860 the Dyers added a wool-carding machine to their water-driven industrial plant. During the early years of the Civil War, women reportedly traveled from as far as 100 miles away to have wool carded at Towash for use in clothing and blankets for Confederate soldiers. A flood destroyed the dam in 1863, but it apparently was rebuilt and a cotton gin established by 1866, the year in which a local post office began operating. This post office closed in 1881, reopened in 1899, and closed permanently two years later. Between 1860 and 1870 Towash had a number of stores and wagonyards, a blacksmith shop, and a ferryboat system.
When the Army Corps of Engineers constructed Lake Whitney in 1951, the remains of Towash (which was prone to the occasional catastrophic flood) were completely inundated, and remain so to this very day.
Well, sort of.
According to the US Geological Survey, as of 8:15pm CDT on Thursday, August 25, 2011, the water levels at Lake Whitney have dropped to 518.22 feet above sea level. Normal elevation for Lake Whitney is 533 feet, indicating that the 2011 drought in Texas has dropped the elevation of Lake Whitney by some 15 feet overall. The drought is obviously hurting the lakeside communities and businesses in the area - but from my own brief explorations of the Lake Whitney shores, it appears to be uncovering a few of the ruins from the townsite of Towash. Photos will be made available soon.
If you have any desire to visit Lake Whitney in order to seek out the remnants of Towash, now is the time. The current water levels at Lake Whitney are the lowest they have been in decades, and are not expected to remain this low for much longer. Just remember the basics: stay hydrated, dress sensibly, don't trespass, and take lots of photos. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rediscover a vanished piece of Texas history.
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