BEAR CREEK, TEXAS
Formerly Capt's Mill

Hays County, Texas Hill Country

30°10'55"N 97°55'58"W (30.182024, -97.932738)
Farm Road 1826
Just off Highway 290
On the Travis/ Hays County Line
16 Miles SW of Austin
About 22 Miles N of San Marcos
Population: 436 Est. (2016)
382 (2010) 360 (2000)

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History in a Pecan Shell

The community formed in the 1850s and was named after the dominate feature. A man named Luis Capt moved here in 1851 and saw the potential for a gristmill. He constructed a dam and mill and the following year he was welcoming neighbors. The community was first known as Capt's Mill.

The town acquired an academy with the arrival of Thomas Jefferson Johnson who opened the Johnson Institute. Things were going well for the growing community until 1867 when a flood washed the mill away. Five years later, the Johnson Institute closed its doors. The community became a ghost due to its tiny population and no businesses to speak of.

Fast forward one hundred years and Bear Creek had a new lease on life. Developers produced a residential neighborhood near the nearly forgotten ruins of the Johnson Institute and the name was returned to use. The 2010 census counted 382 residents.

Bear Creek is served by the Dripping Springs Independent School District.

Cover cancelled with Capt's Mill 1860 postmark
Courtesy The John J. Germann Collection

1907 Hays County Postal Map showing Capt's Mill
(near Travis County line)
From Texas state map #2090, modified
Courtesy Texas General Land Office

Take a road trip

Bear Creek, Texas Nearby Towns:
San Marcos | Austin
See Hays County, Texas Hill Country

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