Historia

This brief history of Apache Shores, compiled in 2003, has benefited greatly from the input of Byron D. Varner, author of “Lakeway The First 25 Years”; Paul D. and Georgean Z. Kyle, owners of the 8.5 acre Santuario de Aves Chaetura Canyon, who have documented the natural vegetation, animals, and 150 different species of birds which inhabit the area; Bob and Moeta Smith who worked for the original developers; and numerous board members and presidents who have served the Property Owners’ Association.

La subdivisión de Apache Shores nació en agosto de 1967 cuando Resort Properties, Inc. de Houston compró 667 acres de tierra al ranchero Jack Josey, un hombre petrolero que en algún momento era propietario de la presa de Mansfield a la autopista 71. Su rancho también albergaría futura ciudad de Lakeway.

In Apache Shores, the idea was to build a resort for people who enjoyed summer lake living, and to that extent the larger set of buildings at the community center site on General Williamson was built as a 5-room motel with an apartment upstairs for the caretaker. Facilities were also put in place for trailers and the barn was used to stable guests’ horses.
This was at a time when FM 620 was a two-lane highway, the route traversing the Mansfield Dam in a passage so narrow that losing a rearview mirror was a common occurrence. The only store was a ‘Stop ‘n Go’ near the Hudson Bend intersection and the only restaurant was La Hacienda in the same area, according to early residents.

Children attending school rode a bus for an hour or more to and from classes in Dripping Springs. Then in 1972 Dripping Springs opened Lake Travis Elementary School on FM 620 at Kollmeyer., It wasn’t until 1981 that a new Lake Travis Independent School District was formed.

El Departamento de Bomberos Voluntarios de Hudson Bend nació en 1969, y en 1985 los votantes aprobaron el Distrito de Bomberos Rurales del Condado de Travis, que recaudó impuestos para financiar grupos de bomberos rurales.

A doctor’s office opened in 1973 in Lakeway and the first dentist arrived in 1974.
Ann Gallington, a los 93 años, que vivía en Friendswood, recuerda haberse quedado en el motel dos noches en 1978 mientras su casa en la esquina de Hunters Pass y Running Deer estaba siendo preparada para su ocupación. Ella vivía arriba. No había aire acondicionado, pero había una ducha, una pequeña cocina y un dormitorio.

Con la desaparición del motel, varias pequeñas empresas alquilaron espacio. Toni Nutt, uno de los primeros miembros de la junta que vivió en el área desde 1979, recuerda un comedor, un salón de belleza, una tienda de comestibles, una tienda de videos y un peluquero de perros en el complejo en un momento u otro.
The barn and horse facilities for the convenience of summer visitors was the scene of some rodeos “that didn’t amount to much,” as one early resident recalled. In the late 1980’s it housed Travis County Sheriff Department horses used in their mounted patrol. In exchange the presence of officers deterred some of the trash dumpers and one was actually tracked down and made to clean up the mess. The Community Center was the scene of resident get-togethers and drew people from outside to a once-a-week square dance.

Built with no insulation or interior walls, the center was a mixed blessing. In order to hear what was going on at meetings, the air conditioner had to be turned off. In winter it was a breezy place and sometimes more than a little cool. Originally called the Party Barn, it was and remains the site of Apache Shores Property Owners’ Association Board meetings. Completely remodeled in 2001, it is also home to Shoreline Senior Citizens of whom 20 or more meet each Friday for bridge, 42 and other games.

Las canchas de tenis y una piscina fueron parte del desarrollo original y después de que Resort Properties, Inc. entregó el área a los propietarios, fueron ellos quienes se ofrecieron voluntariamente una mañana a la semana para ocuparse de la oficina y solucionar los problemas, que inevitablemente surgieron. La ayuda de la oficina fue finalmente contratada.

Moeta Smith was office manager for Resort Properties, Inc. and her husband Bob took care of what was happening outside. He, a man named Williamson who was property manager, and engineers who were laying out the roads had to ride horses or drive jeeps to find the lay of the land. General Williamson – named for guess who? – from RR 620 to Geronimo, was the first platted road with small extensions both ways on Broken Bow, as she recalls.

Cabe señalar que también hay un Moeta y un Fort Smith, calles que los ingenieros llamaron a los Smith, aunque ahora residen en el área de Hudson Bend.

Moeta remembers Ruth McClain was the first to build a home in the area and the first to obtain a telephone after the Smiths. The first Property Owners’ Association president of any duration was an attorney, John Penrose, who served for several years. He is now deceased. Named originally to the Board of Directors on August 14, 1978, when Resort Properties, Inc. turned the subdivision over to the property owners, he quickly succeeded J.C. Pate as chairman. The original Pate was unrelated to the late John Pate who was to serve several terms as president in the coming years.

La oficina, entonces ubicada en la actual Iglesia Iglesias Bautista, se calienta con una estufa de leña y su electricidad es suministrada por un generador. Las personas que construyeron en el área tuvieron que recoger su correo en la oficina. La oficina de correos no atravesaría el desierto. La iglesia actual es el único edificio comunitario que nunca fue cedido a Apache Shores. Vendido por el desarrollador a un inversor privado, fue revendido en 1989 a la iglesia.

Moeta reported selling about 10 of the 2,450 platted lots a year, and some of them she sold six times. Many were designed for mobile homes of which there are still 262. It wasn’t until the new millennium that Apache Shores, with its beautiful geological formations and long vistas, began to appeal to mainstream homebuyers.

Hasta la fecha (cifras de 2003) hay 490 hogares, el número aumenta rápidamente. Hay 1,270 dueños de propiedades, solo alrededor de tres cuartos de ellos realmente viven aquí. Quedan un total de l, 684 lotes baldíos. Se accede a ellos por 60 caminos de aproximadamente 20 millas, que se cruzan entre sí 99 veces. Un programa de mejora para pavimentar y actualizar está haciendo avances muy necesarios.

Los primeros residentes de Apache Shores eran muy resistentes. Han resistido inundaciones, incendios domésticos y solo hace dos años una casa en Running Deer y Hunters Pass fue arrasada por vientos huracanados. Carreteras horribles, una piscina que se volvía verde con demasiada frecuencia y una tabla polémica que parecía invariablemente involucrada en demandas judiciales hicieron que la vida fuera impredecible.

Trisha Shirey, board president in 1993 and 1994, remembers meetings she’d just as soon forget. “I don’t know how many meetings we called off because of fights.” She remembers at least one which escalated into a free-for-all in the parking lot. Shirey also fell heir to the Apache Shores penchant for attracting lawsuits which used up much of the association’s meager funding from the very beginning. It was not uncommon for Sheriff’s deputies to be assigned to meetings in Apache Shores for the purpose of peace-keeping.

Las cosas se han calmado en los últimos años y la junta está pasando gradualmente tareas tales como administración de propiedades, servicio de agua, inspecciones de propiedades y supervisión contable a profesionales. El área ha contratado a Texas Disposal Systems, Inc. para la recolección de basura y se ha contratado a un empleado a tiempo completo para supervisar la operación. La recolección de basura ha comenzado y se está aplicando una nueva política de control de perros para reducir el número de perros errantes libres, contados a 68 una mañana en 1991 por un repartidor de periódicos.

Cuando Resort Properties, Inc. desarrolló Apache Shores, se instalaron líneas de agua que dependen del agua del pozo muy cerca de la superficie y de materiales insuficientes para proporcionar hidrantes contra incendios. La corporación retuvo el sistema después de que la subdivisión fue entregada a los propietarios y continuó recaudando tarifas, pero se hicieron pocas reparaciones. Muchas personas hervían su agua potable o la compraban.

El sistema se ofreció a los propietarios por $285,000 en 1995, luego comprado en 1997 por $1 por el Distrito de Control y Mejoramiento de Agua del Condado de Travis No.17 después de varios intentos abortivos. Desde entonces, se ha mejorado la calidad del agua y la instalación de hidrantes contra incendios y se está llevando a cabo un movimiento actual para anexarse al Distrito 17 del Agua. Si se produce la anexión, un futuro sistema de alcantarillado podría ser una posibilidad.

The area boasts several amenities. Boat docks on Lake Austin, available to association members, have been rebuilt and improved, and Riverside Park there has been called one of the prettiest spots in Apache Shores. A new hiking trail along Indian Creek and Lake Apache was dedicated in March, 2003. Picnic tables have been placed on the route which affords views of several waterfalls. Children’s Park on Geronimo near Running Deer continues to be maintained.

El área también ha sido una de las más asequibles en el área del lago. Las tarifas de propietario fijadas en $35 desde el principio se han mantenido estables. Las evaluaciones especiales de $65 por lote mejorado, votadas por los propietarios, han estado vigentes desde 1985. La recopilación de muchas cuentas vencidas, bajo los auspicios del administrador de la propiedad, ha permitido mejoras significativas en los últimos dos años.

Los desarrolladores originales construyeron una presa para formar el lago Apache con la intención de ser un lugar de pesca, pero después de las fuertes lluvias en mayo de 1981, el nivel del agua subió a menos de dos pies de la cima y comenzaron a aparecer grietas dentro de la estructura. El Cuerpo de Ingenieros de los Estados Unidos, siguiendo varias determinaciones de la corte, ordenó que la presa se hiciera el doble de ancho y el doble de lo que había sido, según Rene Byars, uno de los primeros presidentes de la asociación. Los desarrolladores también tuvieron que colocar un aliviadero para eliminar el exceso de agua.

Rene remembers it well because a week after Memorial Day that year she was ordered to evacuate her home on Geronimo Trail. “The water never did come down but the danger was there,” she recalls.

Early residents remember being invaded by cattle from Steiner Ranch which swam Lake Austin to graze on Apache Shores lots and a herd of Longhorns from a neighboring ranch breaking through the fence to doze on residents’ lawns. Lake Travis View took a picture to document the event.

Of unique interest to the area is Chaetura (pronounced Kay-too-rah) Canyon Bird Sanctuary on 8.5 acres privately owned by Paul D. and Georgean Z. Kyle, who own a toy store in Austin. The Kyles moved from Houston to Apache Shores in 1973 and fell in love with the birds. “We bought a bird book,” Paul reports.

A federally permitted bird banding station located there has helped identify 150 species since conservation and research activities began in 1987. The Kyles report such birds as the Red-shouldered Hawk, Chuck-Will’s Widow, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, Western Scrub-Jay, Canyon Wren, Black-and-white Warbler, Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Painted Bunting.

“In all, more than 30 species nest on or near the sanctuary including the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. Native mammals sighted have included White-tailed Deer, Grey Fox, Raccoon, Ringtail, Fox Squirrel, Rock Squirrel, Opossum, Eastern Cottontail, Blacktail Jackrabbit, Nine-banded Armadillo and Mexican Free-tailed Bat.”
Kyle notes there are also a variety of native reptiles and in the early years they heard what they believed to be mountain lions. “Coyotes are also getting closer. They’ve been seen on 2222, but are so far not in the area.”

También identificó plantas leñosas en el borde del pequeño cañón, cuyas paredes consisten en numerosos afloramientos de piedra caliza y repisas que rodean un arroyo de clima húmedo que se hunde 160 pies desde su parte superior a 600 pies antes de desembocar en el río Colorado. Estos incluyen el enebro de Ashe, el roble vivo, el roble español, la espinilla y el cerezo escarpado.
El suelo del cañón soporta un dosel de cedro salpicado de almez, morera y nuez. La historia dominante es la ceniza de barquillo, pero las partes más húmedas son abundantes con castaño rojo y una colonia de corteza de calambre en expansión.

“Common shrubs throughout the site include three-leaf agarita, Texas persimmon, evergreen and flameleaf sumac, twisted-leaf yucca and prickly pear. In recent years where juniper management and deer exclusion have been practiced, woody plants including deciduous yaupon, silk tassel and bumelia have begun to make a comeback. Spanish oaks have also benefited from the habitat management and many healthy saplings are replacing those lost due to age, ice storms and disease.”

Debido a que es una reserva y no un parque, Chaetura Canyon no está abierto al público. Está protegido por convenios restrictivos que impiden cualquier desarrollo adicional de la propiedad incluso por parte de futuros propietarios.

The name comes from Chaetura pelagica, the scientific name for Chimney Swifts. The site has become an important observatory for the study of these common but little-known birds. “The results of our observation have been published in local, regional, national and international publications and are the subject of an upcoming book about Chimney Swifts to be published by the Texas A&M University Press,” Paul reports.

Kyle, quien es tesorero de la Driftwood Wildlife Association, actualmente se dedica a construir torres para facilitar la anidación de Chimney Swift. El santuario de Apache Shores es conocido como la Estación de la Presa de Mansfield por la asociación y se le reconoce mucho por sus esfuerzos, particularmente en nombre de Chimney Swifts.

Basic to Apache Shores’ continued well-being is the beauty of the land and the affordability of the property. This is an area once covered by a shallow ocean millions of years ago. It receded, leaving limestone deposits which Byron D. Varner in his history of “Lakeway the First 25 Years” says contained varied forms of ancient plants, animals and marine life. Of significant age and size is a live oak off Big Horn Drive which measures 191 inches in circumference, or more than 5 feet in diameter. It is on the property of Jim and Marj Whitehead, who have been mainstays over the years in their knowledge and support of the Apache Shores Property Owners Association.

An Indian mound located on Geronimo in 1978 as the road was being constructed has been documented by the University of Texas Archeological Research Lab. Though the site was already heavily impacted, it yielded such items as burned stones, a plain convex scraper, a dart point and cooking artifacts labeled as “archaic”, meaning several thousand years old. No documentation exists as to their owners, nor were any skeletal remains found.

Instead the area’s Indian history involves Plains Indians, perhaps the first Snow Birds. Varner reports Tonkawas, who made pottery and used flint to shape arrow points and tools, were driven away by Commanches and Apaches. Other tribal names showing up in various reports include the Mescaleros and the Kiowas, and whoever they were Apache Shores remained their property until the late 1690s.

Pero los colonos comenzaron a llegar. La evidencia de un viejo sendero de carretas conduce desde Running Deer por encima de los acantilados hasta el río. Una cerca de roca que protege el sendero, que se cree que data del siglo XIX, era visible en el pasado reciente, pero ahora se está borrando en gran medida debido a la construcción y las tormentas. Esta fue una ruta aparentemente utilizada por los pioneros en su camino hacia y desde la civilización.

Varner reports, “Transportation (in the mid-1800s) was by horseback, buggies and wagons. Stage coaches and freighting wagons made weekly round trips from Houston and Port Lavaca, but several attempts at river commerce using flatboats and steamboats were unsuccessful. Mail arrived once a week by pony express.”

The Ashe juniper, which we call “cedar”, once confined mainly to steep-walled canyons by fires which left the flat land to grass -the grass in turn later overgrazed and destroyed – became rife, stealing the water from springs and small ponds that once proliferated. They also gave rise to the “cedar choppers”, men who cut the trees for fence posts and shingles and burned them down to make a fine charcoal.

Varner reports, “Mountain cedar is a close-grained, light weight, brown wood. Burning it while green avoids reducing the ash to fine powder and produces a hard char. Men placed several cords of cedar in a kiln or pit, covered it with dirt to shut out air and burned it for two or three days until the coal was ready.” In other areas, and probably here too, the roots were unearthed and cooked down to form cedar oil, which in the early years was used in many household products.

A lo largo de los años, la tierra cambió de manos muchas veces, siempre a un aumento en el precio, según Buddy Dodson, quien ha vivido desde 1971 en lo que ahora es Balcones Canyon Lands al final de Kollmeyer y colindante con Apache Shores. Debido al cedro y los valores de la tierra, la ganadería se convirtió en una cosa del pasado y el ganadero que vendió la tierra que se convertiría en Apache Shores corrió principalmente cabras.

Jack Josey, who died in February of 2003, was a Beaumont native who graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in petroleum engineering in 1937, Varner reports. He and Bob Park spent most of their lives in the oil leasing and land business. “At one time they accumulated more than 100,000 acres of Texas and Louisiana ranch land. In addition to his other accomplishments, Josey served on the University Of Texas Board Of Regents from 1965 to 1971.

It was Josey who was to own the land that became both Lakeway and Apache Shores. Varner continued, “During a party in Austin in the 1950s Josey had a chance conversation with friend Bob Bright. Bob extolled the beauties of a Lake Austin ranch he knew about and suggested that Jack should look at it when he had time. Jack responded, ‘How about right now? There’s no time like the present.’ They left the party and drove to a site near the end of Murfin Road.

“Josey purchased 5,600 acres from Murfin Road to the dam and between Ranch Road 620 and Lake Austin. He remodeled an old lake house there for use as a vacation home for family and friends” and many notables found it an ideal retreat from business and government. Josey then bought the property that was to become Lakeway and his holdings amounted to 13,000 acres.

Guiado por la belleza del área, su ubicación entre lo que ahora es el lago Austin y el lago Travis, y las vistas que se extienden por cinco millas o más, a Josey le gustó lo que muchos de nosotros hemos venido a disfrutar. Los permisos de vivienda en los últimos dos años ascendieron a 130 y nuevas personas, muchas de ellas jóvenes adultos que se encuentran en una posición ascendente, están haciendo sonar el área con el sonido de una nueva construcción.