DUANE
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Duane's take
The way the marker tells it, here's the story of Lohmans Crossing. John Henry Lohmans was a native of Hanover, Germany, and he made his way to Texas in 1842. He settled in Austin, where he opened a large dairy farm.
Now, that alone would be a decent life's work for most men. But Lohmans was not most men. In 1867, he picked up and moved into the area west of Austin, and he set about clearing a farm right out of the abundant timberland.
That's not a small thing. That's an axe, a determination, and a whole lot of trees standing between you and a field. He got after it.
But farming and logging weren't the full measure of the man. Lohmans worked on several road construction projects in the area, and then he went a step further. He privately financed the building of Lohmans Ford Road himself.
His own money, his own initiative, cutting a path through country that needed connecting. That road became part of something bigger. Lohmans Ford Road, along with others in the area, was significant in the formation of an early Colorado River crossing network.
A whole web of routes, stitching communities together across that river, and this man's road was a thread in it. You can still follow the general path of that early route today. Lohmans Crossing Road, half a mile to the west, traces where he led the way.
A man from Hanover, Germany, who came to Texas in 1842 and left a road behind him. That's a kind of permanence worth knowing about.
What the marker says
A native of Hanover, Germany, John Henry Lohmans emigrated to Texas in 1842. He settled in Austin where he opened a large dairy farm. In 1867 he moved into this area west of Austin and cleared a farm out of the abundant timberland. Lohmans worked on several road construction projects in the area and privately financed the building of Lohmans Ford Road. Lohmans Crossing Road (.5 mi. W) follows the general path of the early route. Lohmans Ford Road, along with others in the area, was significant in the formation of an early Colorado River crossing network. (1985)