BQ78 said:
It's crazy to think of some of the lost habitat in Texas. When the Santa Fe expedition was forming up at Kinney's Fort in today's Round Rock, they were killing gators in Brushy Creek and the San Gabriel River.
My grandparents had a ranch in Burnet County (Joppa) that had a tributary of the San Gabriel running thru it. They sold it back in the 70's for pennies on the dollar of what it is worth now. My grandpa never spoke of any gators in it but told us grandkids stories of Indians camped out along the creek beds when he was a kid. In one of these stories, he told us that he allowed the Univ of Texas to dig up some areas for archaeological purposes back in the late 60's-early 70's. I remembered these stories & upon one visit to see my grandparents back in the mid 70's, I talked my grandpa into showing me where they had dug. It was right near the "haunted" Joppa Bridge & I unearthed several Indian arrowheads that had gone unnoticed in the hour that I was there. As a young teenager, It was the equivalent to finding a buried treasure.
Found a few good fossil's along the limestone creekbeds on his property over the years, as well.
Such fond memories of days gone by. Wish that my grandparents or my parents had the foresight to save at least a small parcel of this land for the family.....