Driftwood Historical Preservation Society

Posted by Pamela Bratton on Jan 31, 2017
 

Driftwood Historical Preservation Society

 

 
Shelby Eckols is a 4th generation Driftwood resident and luckily for Driftwood, he's a history loving Professional Engineer with a specialty in Water & Wastewater.  Shelby referred to  the book Driftwood Heritage which was authored by Minnie Lee Rogers and published in 1969 by the Ladies Aide group.  The book is out of print now, by full of great information.  Some great facts about our Driftwood neighbor that you might not know:
* In January 1826 land grants were issued from Mexico to get people to live here (no one wanted to stay because of the high rate of murders).
* Title to the land was received in 1835 with such well known frontiersmen as Free Love Woods and WB Travis.
* The value of the land was the cypress trees that grew along Onion Creek.  The wood from the cypress was used to make shingles and sell to the folks over in Austin.
* Driftwood was originally called Liberty Hill, but when they applied for a post office, they realized that name had already been taken and in 1886 became Driftwood.
* In the 1920's the Baptist Church burned so they merged with the Methodist church.
* In the 1950 - 70 period, there was only 1 store (which at one time was owned by Shelby Eckols).
* Driftwood is happy to be 3 decades out of sync with the rest of the world and would like to keep it that serene peaceful community on the banks of Onion Creek Valley.
* Now Driftwood has 3 restaurants and getting a new brew pub.
* The Driftwood Historical Conservation Society was created to preserve the Onion Creek Valley.  They were successful is helping Hays County create a by-pass around driftwood to keep a 4-lane highway from running through the middle of town.
* Driftwood is home to 30 historical sites.
* Onion Creek from the Salt Lick to the double crossing has been designated as one of the most pristine waterways.
* Driftwood is not incorporated.
 
If you are interested in knowing more about the Driftwood Historical Conservation Society, reach out to member Steve Fourtnier or to Shelby Eckols.