A Hill Country Paradise?: Travis County and Its Early Settlers

In the mid-1800s, land speculators said that Western Travis County in Texas would be a paradise, a perfect place to grow crops, raise livestock, and build a life. Settlers were seduced by such stories, and many of them—including a large segment of German immigrants—made their way to this “promised” land. What they found was, for the most part, an arid area of cedar trees, poor soil, rocks, and snakes.

Still, these hardy people carved out a good life for themselves, making the best of what t...