DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say — and this one's got geology, empires, and the shape of Texas itself all wrapped up together. Curving through the heart of Texas — from Hill County south and west all the way to Uvalde County — there runs a rugged escarpment-fault called the Balcones. Now, a fault line sounds like trouble, and sometimes it is.
But this particular wrinkle in the earth? This one drew people in like a magnet for centuries. Spanish explorer Bernardo de Miranda saw it first through European eyes, back in 1756, and he called it Los Balcones — meaning balconies.
Whether he was looking up at those limestone ledges or looking down from them, he knew he was seeing something worth naming. And he wasn't the first to notice. Long before Miranda ever set foot in Texas, Indian tribes had already found what the Balcones fault had to offer — springs bubbling up out of the rock, wooded hills rising above fertile prairies.
It was the kind of country that told you to stay a while. The Spanish took that invitation seriously. Part of El Camino Real — the King's Highway itself — skirted the fault line.
Missions and presidios were planted at the springs near San Antonio, near Austin, and elsewhere along that escarpment. The formation was practically doing the work of a map, pointing settlers toward water and shelter and good ground. But here's the thing about those early Spanish settlements — many of them disappeared before 1800.
The land gave, and the land took back. Then came the Anglo-Americans. Led by Stephen F.
Austin, they began settling near the Balcones escarpment before 1830. And through their courage and determination — the marker's words, and the right ones — those early pioneer settlements grew into the towns and cities that today dot the fault line. One of those towns was Austin.
And Austin, with what the marker calls its combination of beauty and natural resources, was chosen as the capital of the independent Republic of Texas — the very republic that went on to become the 28th state of the United States. All of that — the missions, the highway, the capital, the state — shaped by a crack in the earth running from Hill County to Uvalde. The Balcones fault didn't just hold up the Hill Country.
In a very real way, it helped hold up Texas.
What the marker says
Curving through the center of Texas form Hill County south and west to Uvalde County is the rugged escarpment-fault called Balcones. The abundance of natural resources associated with this geologic formation affected the pattern of colonization in Texas. The numerous springs and wooded hills of the escarpment and adjacent fertile prairies attracted Indian tribes and Spanish colonists before the area was permanently settled by Anglo-American pioneers. Spanish explorer Bernardo de Miranda in 1756 named the formation "Los Balcones", meaning "balconies". Part of El Camino Real, the "King's Highway", skirted the fault line. Spanish missions and presidios were located at springs near San Antonio, Austin, and elsewhere, but many Spanish settlements disappeared before 1800. Anglo-Americans led by Stephen F. Austin began to settle near the Balcones escarpment before 1830. Through their courage and determination, early pioneer settlements grew into the towns and cities that today dot the fault line. The town of Austin, with its combination of beauty and natural resources, was chosen capital of the independent Republic of Texas, which became the 28th state of the United States. (1976)