PREFACE
In the early 2000’s, local Boy Scout Troop 151 created a walking trail and self-guided interpretation pamphlet of downtown Georgetown and historical landmarks. This series of caches is designed to mimic the trail (though not exactly). Each cache is 5-7 stages, roughly grouped geographically. All stages except the last are given, and you must pick up clues along the way in order to decode the coordinates of the final stage and find the physical cache. With nice weather and good walking shoes, you could definitely do caches #1 through #3 on foot. I’m told back in the day if you completed the trail you could earn a patch at the Visitor’s Center. I myself am a volunteer with this troop but the individuals who created the trail were well before my time. Thankfully my records contain their names and I humbly credit them below with the creation of the Takatchue Pouetsu Trail. The vast majority of the text below is taken straight from their guide.
As with all caches, please Be Prepared by bringing water and appropriate sun protection, especially in the summer. And since there is a lot of reading to be done for each stage, please be careful if walking and reading at the same time!
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the Takatchue Pouetsu Trail! And WHAT does takatchue pouetsu (ta-cot'-chu poo-et'-su) mean, and why pick this difficult phrase to name a trail? The Tonkawa Indians are accepted by most authorities to be the first human inhabitants of this area. The Tonkawa called this area, including what is now Williamson County, 'Takatchue Pouetsu', which translates to 'The Land of Good Water'. Since this description of the area is still in use, we thought it a good name for a trail that explores the 'civilization' of the area. You will explore the settlement of this community from the time it was called Takatchue Pouetsu to the present Georgetown. We also wanted to go beyond the settlement of just this area, because what happened here was similar to what happened in other Texas cities and towns, as well as other parts of the American frontier. The process of 'civilizing' Georgetown, from the time of the Tonkawa Indians to the current modern city, is a good example of how frontier areas were settled. And we feel this is really the process of 'how the West was won.'
The patch was designed to reflect what happened in this area. Besides the trail name of 'Takatchue Pouetsu' we have the buffalo which were here before any humans, and were one of the reasons the Tonkawa settled in the area. The teepees represent the Tonkawa, Apaches, Karankawa, Comanches, Huacos and other Indian tribes who lived and hunted in this area. We included the name Rio de San Xavier in honor of the first non-native inhabitants of the area, the Spanish Missionaries. The building is the old Williamson County Jail, the oldest public building still in use, and represents the arrival of local government. The San Gabriel River is in the center of the patch as it was instrumental in the settlement of this area. The rising sun and 1848 represent the dawning of Williamson County and Georgetown (in 1848), with the Red Poppy to represent the wild flowers of this area.
This trail is designed to be enjoyed - not endured. Many of the areas you will explore are only sites where some piece of history took place. While you read the descriptions of these areas, use your imagination to picture what they were like hundreds of years ago before all the 'advantages' of civilization were added – such as buildings, roads and power lines. Spend as much or as little time at each point as your group desires. If you or your group finds something interesting that is not listed, investigate it! The biggest problem we encountered was what items to omit because of space and time.
The Trail Crew, Boy Scout Troop 151
First United Methodist Church, Georgetown, Texas
The 'Trail Crew' of Troop 151 would like to express our appreciation to Mr. J. C. Johnson at the Georgetown Historical Society. Mr. Johnson provided us with a wealth of interesting information as well as allowing the use of the Historical Society's library of information.
We would also like to thank the following:
Tracy Billingsley, Les Clary, Crichton and Associates, Georgetown Fire Department, Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department, Georgetown Police Department, Georgetown Public Library, Williamson County Sheriff's Department, and our parents for all their assistance.
Troop 151 Trail Crew
Contributing Scouts
Jeff Bush, Jon Compton, Chris Crichton, Jody Hoover, Greg Leinweber, David Martindale, Chris O'Neil, Daniel Powell, Corey Rogers, Jared Schampers, William Schwerdtfeger, Brian Seemann, Craig Seemann, Matt Stanley, Stuart Walden, Matt Wright, Thomas Wright
Adult Advisers
Elizabeth Billingsley, Ron Billingsley, Herman Crichton, Ed Powell, Millie Powell, Bill Rogers, Dick Seemann, Rick Schampers, Phil Walden.
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TAKATCHUE POUETSU TRAIL #2
This second cache covers an area in roughly central downtown. Total round-trip distance walked is approximately 0.6 miles. You can park at the Georgetown Public Library or anywhere nearby.
Stage 1
If you are standing at the south library entrance (by the small fountains), look west to the Georgetown Planning Dept. building at 809 Martin Luther King St.
The Georgetown Planning Dept. currently occupies a building that signaled the arrival of the ‘good life’ of civilization -- public utilities. These included water, gas and electricity, usually arriving to an area in that order. This particular building was used originally by the Georgetown Public Utilities Department. (You may still be able to see the old sign ‘Water Plant’ on the south side of the building.) It was later home to the Police Department, and currently serves as the Planning Department. In Georgetown, a water system was not in place until 1882 and the first sewage system in 1894. In both cases, these systems only served part of the town.
Life was much easier (and safer) after public utilities arrived in an area. Water came from creeks, rivers or springs. Springs were the first choice, but even these were not always safe. Toilets were ‘outhouses’ over pits and could leach down into the water of the springs. (There were public toilets of this variety located on the court house lawn until 1894.) If no springs were available or if they dried up in the summer, creeks or rivers would be used. With these, you never knew what was happening up stream. (The water could be a little cloudy after a buffalo or cattle herd had crossed upstream!)
This building has a tall attached structure reaching high into the sky. Is it a(n):
Concrete smokestack, A = 2; Iron oil gusher, A = 5; Wooden windmill, A = 7
Stage 2
Go east on 9th Street to Austin Avenue. Notice the building to your left at 824 Austin Ave.
This building was the home of the Georgetown Telephone Exchange. This exchange was operated by Ms. Jessie Daniel Ames and her mother. (You will hear more about Ms. Ames later.) Until the telegraph (in 1881) and later, the telephone (in early 1900’s) came into this area, communications were slow, to say the least. Mail could take from a few days to months to arrive, depending on just about anything. Local newspapers were published, but they received news at the same rate as everyone else – very slowly. Imagine, the next time you watch live election returns on TV, how long it would take for someone to get on a horse in Washington, D.C., ride through rain, snow, swollen rivers (and who knows what else) to Georgetown to tell you who was elected President. (Don’t even consider how long it took for information to arrive from across the oceans!)
B = the number of windows on the south wall of this building
Stage 3
Cross Austin Avenue. (Carefully! While there is a legal crosswalk here, you may be more comfortable walking one block north to the traffic light instead. If so, just remember to come south one block to resume walking on 9th Street.) Austin Avenue was known as Red Street in the Georgetown of 1848. This was one of the early roads into Georgetown, going to ‘Brushy Creek’ (the original name of the Round Rock area) and on to Austin. To the north it went to Waco.
Buffalo herds, over hundreds of years, had found the best means of moving from one point to another. These buffalo trails usually contained the easiest river crossings, with water and shelter along the trail. Many times, the cattle trails followed these routes, and this was the case here. This was one of the feeder trails to the Chisholm Trail. (The Chisholm Trail actually started in Oklahoma with many other trails feeding up to it from Texas.)
In many cases, early roads followed these cattle trails for the same reasons the trails followed the buffalo routes. With no bridges or earth moving equipment, you had to pick the road and clear it, not build it. The later and better roads, including the modern interstate highways, mostly followed the routes of the early roads. (It is ironic to think that the animal we hunted almost to extinction, the buffalo, laid out much of the modern interstate highway system in the west!)
The building just across Austin Avenue (now a gift shop) is thought to be the first Gulf Service Station in town, built around 1925. Cars of that era probably needed a lot of service, considering the shape of the roads (or non-roads) during the time. Continue east on 9th Street to Main Street. Main Street was known as Blue Street in early Georgetown. (Georgetown does have a colorful past!) On your left will be the former Main Fire Station at 9th and Main.
Originally built in 1892, this building has always housed the Georgetown Fire Department. Earlier, it also housed the Police Department, mayor, city council, jail and water department. The 2nd Baptist Church also held meetings here. It is now home to the Georgetown Art Center and Thundercloud Subs. The bell you see on the outside of the building was the city ‘fire bell’ and was mounted on the roof of the building until recently. The round area in the mini courtyard was once the base of the water ‘standpipe’, the first water tower for Georgetown built in 1881. It is now – fittingly – a splash pad! See if you can find the button to turn it on; it’s active from April to September and is a popular place for local kids, including my own!
C = the hour at which the splash pad opens (look for the weathered steel sign)
Stage 4
Cross Main Street and stop at the old Grace Episcopal Church building, located to your left.
The Grace Episcopal congregation first met in 1869, with this building being erected in 1881. Notice the stained glass and designs in the windows. This building was used until 1985 in its original location on University Drive, then donated to the City of Georgetown. It was moved to this location in March 1992 and is used for community purposes. This building is on both the Texas and National Historic Registries and is now called Grace Heritage Church. In late 2017 the City spent $418,000 to repair and restore the building. Be sure to speak to a docent if one is present. They may even let you ring the bell!
D = the tens place of the number of years between when the church was built and when it was entered in the National Register of Historic Places (take the difference between the plaques on either side of the front door of the church)
E = the ones place in the year the church was built
Stage 5
Continue east on 9th Street for one block to the corner of 9th and Church Street and locate the large stone marker in Founder’s Park.
This monument marks the location where George W. Glasscock met with a group of Milam County citizens and donated 176 acres of land as a site for the county seat for a proposed new county. The residents of this area had petitioned the state to form a county since the trip by horseback to the county seat (located at Nashville-on-the-Brazos) took over a day. One of the requirements of the Texas legislature was for the group to secure a site for a county seat before the new county would be chartered. Since there were no funds, this site must be donated. The land would provide sites for county buildings and be sold to provide money for the construction of these buildings. Mr. Glasscock donated this land (part of a grant he received for fighting in the Texas Revolution) for the county seat. In return, the group named the city “Georgetown”. (There was a post office already in this area in 1848, but it was called ‘Brushy’.) The original application for the county specified either ‘Clear Water’ or ‘San Gabriel’ as the name for the new county, but the legislature rejected these and named the county for Texas Supreme Court Justice Robert McAlpin Williamson. Judge Williamson was also known as ‘Three Legged Willie’ because he used a peg leg due to paralysis of his right leg.
Soon after people started living in an area, the desire for a local government was recognized. Early on, Texas had a few VERY large counties. As these were settled, residents in an area would form their own county. In some cases these counties would again divide into more counties. That is the reason there are still very large counties in the less populated areas of the state.
F = the ones place of the year the historical marker was placed (the metal one titled “Founding of Georgetown” and facing Church Street)
To find the final stage and physical cache, use the information collected on your walk to complete these coordinates:
N 30° 38.EFC W 097° 40.BAD
If walking back to the library to get your car, feel free to go one block north and walk back along 8th Street to see the courthouse and take in different sights.
Congrats for FTF go to: Carrot Killer and LadyBlackCat!!