Austin, TX

Interested in Historical Recreation?

Wells Branch MUD, and The Society for Creative Anachronism Brings You:

“RENAISSANCE DAY IN THE PARK”

Saturday, Sept. 6, 2008
10am to 5pm
Location: Katherine Fleischer Park
2106 Klattenhoff Drive
Pflugerville, TX

Visitors will get a taste of medieval times thanks to collaboration between Wells Branch and the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. The society is an international association of people who re-enact the Middle Ages as they will for visitors with chivalric and rapier demonstrations and approximately 17 guilds including clothiers, fiber artisans, leather workers, dancers, scribes, brewers, metal workers, glass engravers, enamelers, herbalists, and others. Many of the ancient arts will be on display in the baseball field at Katherine Fleischer Park. The event is free to the public.

Historical Dancing will follow inside from 6-10

(This is a small, non-commercial historical recreation demo put on by volunteers)

1. The first mascot was a Pig. Well, sort of.
2. The UT Tower is 307 feet tall and glows Longhorn Orange in celebration of UT victories. It stands 27 stories high and is slightly taller than the State Capital.
3. UT’s official song is The Eyes of Texas
4. The World’s Largest Texas Flag is a used by the Alpha Rho chapter of Alpha Phi Omega (ΑΦΩ or APO) at the University of Texas at Austin in displays at football pre-game shows, at pep rallies, or for other purposes.
5. The “Hook ‘em Horns” hand sign was created by head cheerleader Harley Clark in 1955.
6. Smokey the Cannon is fired each time the Longhorns score, at every kick-off, and at the end of each quarter. The cannon is present for all home games, and for some away games when not prohibited by local rules.
7. According to Legends of America - “The written test for University of Texas at Austin campus police in the 1960s asked applicants the shape of their excrement to test their ability to be observant.” (I’m very curious about that one!)

Other articles in this series:
Happy Birthday UT!
University of Texas: Famous Alumni

UT, University of Texas, History, Trivia, Facts, Fun, Legends

The University of Texas began as a concept, “Cultivated mind is the guardian genius of democracy.” Those words directed to Congress by Republic of Texas President, Maribeau Lamar, would later become the basis for the University of Texas motto, “Disciplina Praesidium Civitatis”.

Nicknamed the “Father of Texas Education”, Lamar convinced Congress to set aside land for public schools and two universities. Although the land was set aside in 1839, Lamar’s vision would not be realized for several decades. In 1871 Texas A&M was established but it would be another 12 years before the University of Texas officially opened its doors. It was on this day, September 15th, of 1883 that those doors opened, marking this as the 124th anniversary of the University of Texas.

The original faculty consisted of 8 professors, 4 assistants and a proctor and there were 221 students in the first session. Attendance rose steadily over the subsequent years but it took a Supreme Court decision in 1950 before African American students were allowed to enroll.

Today the University of Texas is one of the largest universities in the United States. From it’s humble beginnings, it has grown from it’s original 8 professors and 221 students to a 350-acre main campus with 21,000 faculty and staff, 16 colleges and schools and almost 50,000 students.

In celebration, you’ll find the Tower all decked out in orange today.

Now & Then: A photo tour of UT through the ages.

Other articles in this series:
University of Texas: Famous Alumni
University of Texas: Trivia

UT, University of Texas, Austin, Birthday, 124, Mirabeau Lamar

My favourite statue in Austin is not The Bat, as one might imagine, although I’m quite fond of it. It’s not even Stevie Ray Vaughn, although that is also a favourite, and I have quite a funny story to tell about that one!

No, my favourite statue in Austin is of the Lady Cannoneer, Angelina Eberly. There is something just brilliant about Angelina, standing stalwart by her cannon, ever vigilant in her quest to protect Austin from enemies unknown.

Angelina Belle Peyton Eberly wasn’t born in Texas, she was born in Tennessee in 1798, but she got here as fast as she could. She married her 1st cousin, Jonathan Peyton, in 1818. Did I mention she was from Tennessee? The Peyton’s arrived in San Felipe de Austin in 1825 with several slaves in tow, and opened an inn and a tavern. Okay, so everything about her wasn’t great. Although her husband died in 1834, Angelina continued to run the inn and the tavern until she was forced to burn it down to keep it from the hands of the Mexicans.

In 1836 she married widower, Jacob Eberly, and moved to Austin. Eberly House was born and Angelina served such notable guests as Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar and his cabinet. President Sam Houston chose to live in Eberly House rather than occupy the president’s home. Living with Angelina proved to be fatal. Jacob Eberly died in 1841.

In 1842, the sly Sam Houston had ordered his men to remove the public archives from Austin and to deliver them to Houston. Sam didn’t think that Austin was an appropriate capital (c’mon, we all know he wanted Houston to be the capital!) and feared that the Mexican army was about to make a move on Austin. They had, after all, done so in San Antonio. Austinites, however, rightly fearing that Houston was intent on moving their beloved capital to Houston, formed a vigilante committee and informed department heads that any attempts to remove the archives would be met with armed resistance.

The vigilantes, however, were caught off guard and Houston’s men managed to load up their wagon with the archival documents and headed out of town. Angelina, with her keen hearing, was on the ball - the cannon ball, that is, and she took aim and fired at the thieves! The vigilantes gathered up a cannon from their arsenal and took chase! Houston’s men were overtaken at Kenney’s Fort on Brushy Creek. A few shots were fired and Sam’s men gave up the documents to avoid bloodshed. This was, as you can imagine, quite an embarrassment to President Houston and became known as the Archives War. The archives were returned and never again did Sam Houston attempt to remove them from Austin.

Angelina finally settled in Indianola, Tx, where she ran a hotel, spared further men by not remarrying and died in 1860 at the ripe old age of 62, leaving her grandson, Peyton Bell Lytle, as the heir to her estate, valued at $50k.

And that, my friends, is how Angelina Eberly saved Austin!

How cool would it be to have the title of Cannoneer to your name?

If you’d like to see the statue created by local artist Pat Oliphant, of Angelina and her cannon of doom, you’ll find it at Sixth and Congress on the very spot from which she fired her infamous cannon. There is even a luncheon coming up, held by the Austin Women’s Club.

Angelina Eberly Luncheon – November 30, 2007, Austin Woman’s Club, 710 San Antonio St., 11:45 am – registration. Lunch & program begin at 12:00 noon. Call 974-7499 for information.

Angelina Eberly, Eberly House, Sam Houston, President, Austin, History, Cannon, Pat Oliphant, statue, Archives, War, Cannoneer, Lady Cannoneer, Luncheon, Women, travel, things to see