Historic sites emerge from Lake Travis

LAKE TRAVIS, Texas (KXAN) - Flowing from the Anderson Mill Garden Club, lately a mission has diverted during this drought. While the lack of rain kept members like Martha Walgren out of the flower bed, it allowed for something she's seen only twice in the last decade.

“We let go of the toil of trying to keep things alive,” Walgren said, “and go back to our secondary part, which is the history.

The club has maintained a replica and museum of the old Anderson Mill for years. Inside are the artifacts from the original 150-year-old structure, now once again partially visible.

Walgren recalled, “The mill was completely in disrepair and almost totally gone before the lake was put in.”

With the completion of Mansfield Dam in the 1930s, the mill went underwater, until the drought drew history buffs like Walgren to notice the rock support wall now resurfaced on the shores of Lake Travis. At least 70 similar archeological sites are now exposed in the area, as the lake level continues to drop.

Many are Native American and early European, while others are from settlements within the last few centuries. The Lower Colorado River Authority said more sites are still under the surface. Until recently, only scuba divers could see the artifacts below.

Richard Barstow of Windy Point Park Scuba said, “Those that are interested in going to look for new territory, the adventurous divers, yeah they’ve picked up.”

Along with that uptick in curious divers, the LCRA said more vandals taking advantage of this re-emergence. It is illegal to take any artifacts or even dig on these sites, which are protected by the state antiquities code.

“People are very interested in places like that,” said Dan Prikryl, program manager for archeology at the LCRA. “But they can also destroy what little is left. We want to protect that.”

Walgren agreed, saying, “If it’s destroyed or ruined in any way, then other generations don’t get to see it.”

Those who stumble across anything they believe to be a historic site should call Prikryl at 1-800-776-5272, ext. 6714.