Historical Research |
| Planning
for survey and excavations in the Guy Town area began
with extensive archival investigations. These investigations
have continued even after archeological excavations
were completed in the Winter of 2001. Hicks & Co.
researchers combed through county historical files,
deed records, tax records, city directories, lot registers,
census tracts, court cases, and old newspaper clippings
in order to trace the various occupants and patterns
of land use over time. Early maps, including bird's-eye
views and Sanborn Insurance drawings, provided depictions
of the built environment from the 1870s to the mid-twentieth
century. Faded photos and newspaper clippings recalled
bygone people and places. |
Augustus
1887 Bird's Eye View of Austin. The project area is
shown within the bold lines. |
These
newspaper clippings record just two of the many incidents
reported in Guytown during the late nineteenth & early
twentieth centuries.
click on for larger photo
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Accounts filed by the descendants of a prosperous
merchant family in the Guy Town neighborhood, the
Schneiders, provided a capsule glimpse of commercial
life in the area during the late 1900s and early twentieth
century. The Schneider Store was a full-scale mercantile
operation, serving as a community mainstay for residents
as well as a important destination for trappers and
farmers bringing in wagonloads of goods and furs to
sell or trade. |
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The
Schneider family home, circa 1900.
The
Schneider Store at the beginning of the 20th Century.
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Interviews
with family members of residents from the area are
another component of Guy Town research. One family
history, provided by the great niece of a female
bartender murdered in Guy Town, offered a glimpse
at personal tragedy. The court case documenting
her murder contains a wealth of information not
only about the drama of the events, but also about
the mundane aspects of the daily lives led by the
community's residents.
The
various sources provide a unique and important enhancement
to the archeological data. Combined with material
remains they present a more-complete, anthropological
view of Guy Town.
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