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OLD
ARMORY
by Mike Cox
Is
there really an historical treasure trove beneath downtown Austin? |
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The
story sounded suspiciously like an urban legend, but the teller clearly believed
it without question.
It goes back to 1840, when Austin was capital of
the Republic of Texas. The government had been there less than a year when an
armory was built near the point where Waller Creek flowed into the Colorado River.
As Gerald Pierce said in his well-researched study of the republic's
military, "Texas Under Arms," no description of the arsenal is known. But, he
speculated, it was "doubtless a small log and frame building much like the Houston
Arsenal." The installation likely also had barracks, corrals, horse sheds and
a blacksmith's shop.
The armory also had a small shop where weapons could
be repaired and tested. Machinery was powered by a waterwheel in the nearby creek,
which constituted the eastern edge of the town.
"Here was the real center
of day-to-day army activity in...Austin," Pierce wrote, "and the only place in
the town that was constantly occupied by Texan soldiers from 1839 to 1845."
Because of that, the creek and the few undeveloped spots around it are of
considerable interest to modern-day metal detector enthusiasts who like to look
for old buttons, buckles and bullets. And from one of them, a man who has been
listening to the whine of a radio signal bouncing up from buried metal for more
than three decades, comes this story.
"When they were excavating for
a new building at the site several years ago," he said, "the workmen found a tunnel
underneath where the arsenal had stood."
That is interesting enough,
but what he said next borders on the incredible: "Inside the tunnel were stacks
of rifles and swords."
When the heavy equipment crew reported the find
to the contractor, his reaction was not one of historical fascination, the metal
detector said.
"Fill it up with concrete," the boss man supposedly ordered.
The contractor was afraid that if he reported the find, the project would
be delayed by archaeologists and all the associated governmental red tape. So,
on penalty of losing their job, the workmen poured concrete into the tunnel.
Supposedly, the weapons were left inside so word would not get out, but that's
pretty hard to swallow. How could anyone resist getting their hands on a vintage
firearm or sword?
If there really is an historical treasure trove beneath
downtown Austin, maybe the next time someone gets the site ready for a new building,
someone will wonder about an unusual, tunnel-shaped core of buried concrete.
More likely, it's just a legend.
© Mike
Cox
Austin, Texas |
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