Drought reveals ghost town, cemetery

LLANO COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - Drought has Lake Buchanan revealing some of its deepest secrets. The town of Old Bluffton and parts of the cemetery last seen in the 1930s have re-emerged now that water levels have dropped by 30 feet.

This is allowing Alfred Hallmark, a local historian and a descendant of Old Bluffton founders, to walk through the town.

"It is a rare opportunity to see how our ancestors lived," explained Hallmark, who has visited the site three times since the 1960s.

Extreme drought in Central Texas has actually resulted in this town resurfacing seven times.  Typically, it lies beneath 10 to 20 feet of water.  As of December, Lake Buchanan is down 30 feet -- exposing never-before-seen artifacts and ruins.

"You find something knew every time," Hallmark added.

Old Bluffton was founded in 1853. Ranching and farming was the way of life for the 50 families who called the town home. Then, in 1937, when the Colorado River was dammed, settlers were forced to move. Originally, the residents thought it would take three years for the lake to fill up, but it reached its capacity in three months.

"It was a hard life because everything was done manually with mules and that sort of thing. The [damming] was kind of a mixed blessing because people sold their land to cheaply to the first developer and ended up with nothing and this was at the onset of the Depression. They had no jobs," he added.

Many settlers thought they could stay despite the damming, putting them in a predicament when the lake started to fill quickly.

"Many people that thought they could stay longer had to scramble from the base of the lake. I have a relative that he and his wife who lived three miles south of here and he was working. He and his wife had to dismount their house and float part of this house, lumber and furniture, across low areas to get back to solid ground," Hallmark recalled.

All of the homes are now gone. If anything is left, it is the jars and little artifacts that have turned up. 

The latest re-emergence of this town turned up a tombstone belonging to Johnny Parks, a 1-year-old, who passed away in 1889. The last time the tombstone was visible was in 1937.

"You learn something new every time," Hallmark said.

Parks' body, along with 394 other bodies in the cemetery, were dug up and relocated to the new Bluffton settlement five miles away. There, all of the deceased were given new tombstones.

Still, the idea of seeing a ghost town and cemetery is drawing spectators. Vanishing Texas River Cruise tour director Tim Mohan brings tourists to the area by boat three times a week.

"They are so excited," he said. "There are dozens of things unearthed."

Mohan said tourists are respectful of not picking up artifacts. The Lower Colorado River Authority has put up signs around the area warning people it is unlawful to take artifacts from the area.

Tourists are currently able to see the foundation of a former school, a water well, cemetery, a cotton gin and and the foundation of an old corner store that includes a Texaco gas pump.

"You are anticipating each week with the drop of the water, seeing more structures," Mohan said.

Hallmark is working quickly to document newly revealed artifacts and is even placing red flags were graves used to exist.  He accessed the cemetery records from LCRA and now has a handful of flags erected.

"We need to protect this," Hallmark urged.

When the drought ends, the town will likely disappear back into the deep.  It is unclear when or if it will resurface and what it will keep hidden or reveal.