4/22/06: Convict Hill Quarry Park

April 22, 2006
Convict Hill Quarry Park, Texas - by Lynda DeGroot
On April 22, 2006 (It's My Park Day) numerous local residents, a couple of Scout troops and 3 enthusiastic Trail Tamers (Mary Zeitler, Stan Pascua and me) showed up at this great little park located near Oak Hill, on the southwest edge of Austin, TX.

The agenda for the day was to remove as much cut cedar and other brush as possible from the interior of the park where it was stacked in huge piles and left to rot for almost a decade. Members of the E-Corp division of AmeriCorp removed massive amounts of cedar during earlier workdays. All of this effort was being made to clear the park sufficiently so that a few trails could be put in for everyone to enjoy.

From 9am until 1pm, we dragged and stacked as much dead cedar as we could possibly move and, when finished, the stacks were nearly 50 yards long and about 6-8 feet high! When we finished for the day, all volunteers received a free t-shirt and other goodies.

The park has historic significance in that it was the original quarry for the stone that was used in part of the Texas capitol! There was once a railroad line running from the quarry that delivered cut stone to the capitol construction site. There are still some old stones in the park with bore holes from that time long ago. Throughout the park are numerous high mounds of rock and low-lying areas that tend to accumulate water after a rain. There's a high rock ledge running along one side and a thicket in the northwest corner. Near the center are several huge, OLD cedar trees and a variety of native plants throughout. It's really a pretty & peaceful setting!

A couple of short meandering trails had been put in place by the informal Friends of Convict Hill Quarry Park, but they asked for Trail Tamer help to determine the best placement of future trails. We suggested that they wait until all the brush is removed before attempting to put in more trails, and then CTTT will be glad to come back and help. Their next workday is June 10 so that would be a great opportunity to see this fine park!