William Cannon Drive
William Cannon Drive is located in suburban South Austin and serves as one of the city’s major east-west corridors. For much of its existence, the roadway cut through rural farmland and connected residential neighborhoods. Like much of Austin, this corridor has seen a lot of growth, and it has become a critical artery, connecting its many residents to shopping, restaurants and parks in their community.
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William Cannon Drive está ubicado en los suburbios del sur de Austin y sirve como uno de los principales corredores este-oeste de la ciudad. Durante gran parte de su existencia, la carretera atravesaba tierras de cultivo rurales y barrios residenciales conectados. Como gran parte de Austin, este corredor ha experimentado un gran crecimiento y se ha convertido en una arteria fundamental que conecta a sus numerosos residentes con tiendas, restaurantes y parques en su comunidad.
Looking north over William Cannon Drive with Williamson Creek just beyond. Source: Homes and Rentals (HAR)
History
The corridor along William Cannon is on the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Tonkawa, the Apache, the Ysleta del sur Pueblo, the Lipan Apache Tribe, the Texas Band of Yaqui Indians, the Coahuitlecan and all other tribes not explicitly stated. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge and pay respects to the many other tribes, Indigenous Peoples, and communities who have been or have become a part of these lands and territories now known as Texas.
“Pilot Knob, the volcano, which is technically still an active volcano, is in that area. Hasn't blown up since I've been around.”
JaNet Booher
Pilot Knob was a very active volcano over 80 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed what is now Central Texas. Source: Larry D. Moore / CC BY-SA
“I'm fairly certain that this area 150 years ago the Indians probably loved it, and its part of the history of the area…Indians honored the earth and those of us who are still down here, for lack of a better way of calling it, we're just a bunch of old tree hugging hippies. And we want to honor the earth, the land. Well, we are. We're here, we want to take care of what's here and we'd like to see that honored.”
Susan Williard
McKinney Falls State Park/Onion Creek Crossing on El Camino Real de Tejas established by trails of the Caddo Tribe Source: El Camino Real de Tejas National Historic Trail Association
This roadway gets its name from William Cannon, a Texas Revolution veteran best known for his role in the Battle of San Jacinto. In the early 1800s, Mr. Cannon owned land and a trading post located along Onion Creek.
An old school building at Pleasant Hill in 1950. Source: Austin History Center
The original portion of the road was built in the 1960s as a smaller arterial loop south of US 290. Overtime, the roadway expanded, and its current alignment was completed in the late 1980s. Prior to that time, most of the corridor was either rural farmland or consisted of small residential developments. Throughout the early 1990s, a growth in residential and commercial development occurred, reflecting much of the character we now see today.
Convict Hill, now the Oak Hill neighborhood, in 1983. Williamson Creek is below. Source: PICA 29083, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
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Farming was what it was, from the land grant on. It's Blackland Prairie area, and it is deep, black soil.”
JaNet Booher
Source: 53-490-01, Neal Douglass Collection, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library
Listen to Ricardo Zavala talk about how Dove Springs got its name and some of the history of the neighborhood’s development. Ricardo grew up in Doves Springs and runs a community organization Dove Springs Proud.
Source: Austin-American Statesman
Life on the Corridor
“This road goes through Dove Springs and is one of the heart lines for the 78744 area. The community is family, kid, faith and blue collar and is very strong on a sense of Dove Springs, 44, community.”
Ricardo Zavala
A Dove Springs art box painted as part of the Capital Metro Art Boxes project in 2018 Source: Gabriel C. Pérez/KUT
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If you were to walk into [my neighborhood], it looks so mundane. You think, “Oh, there's nothing that happens here,” but once you get embedded into it, you started to realize all these things that come together. Like schools that are near here, they really bring our community together. My neighborhood—it's a hidden jewel.”
Aracely Tellez
Onion Creek Metropolitan Park clean-up day. Source: Austin Parks Foundation
Listen to longtime resident Annie Harton describe her memories of the neighborhood and the recent Onion Creek floods. Annie advocated at city hall for flood recovery and was part of Travis Austin Recovery Group.
Halloween Floods of 2013. Source: Susan Willard
Dove Springs Proud and Dove Springs Advisory Board helped with recovery and cleanup efforts during 2013 Halloween Flood on William Cannon.
Halloween Floods of 2013. Source: Ricardo Zavala
“The creek is beautiful, but it can be horribly dangerous too. That flood killed seven people. And that’s why I was so determined that it was not going to be forgotten…southeast Austin has the same importance as Shoal Creek or Rob Roy. Our lives are just as valuable.”
Annie Harton
Students from Perez Elementary Onion Creek flood recovery site at George Morales Dove Springs Recreation Center in November 2013. Source: Susan Willard
“You've got to respect the power of nature.”
Susan Willard
In Goodbye, Home (Stories of Change) filmmaker & documentarian Deborah S. Esquenazi produces three experimental vignettes from District Two to examine who in Austin is most impacted by our changing landscape. The third vignette (at 05:45) shows footage of 2013 Onion Creek floods.
“I always loved Dove Springs because the dove is the symbol of love and peace. And everything we do, we do it in the name of love and peace. “
Listen to Ofelia Zapata, longtime neighborhood organizer who partnered with Go Austin Vamos Austin (GAVA) and the Austin Parks Foundation to improve parks in the neighborhood. Onion Creek Metropolitan Park is being developed since the city purchased homes that were in the floodplain.
Break-out groups discussing the master plan proposed for Onion Creek Metropolitan Park. Source: Onion Creek Metropolitan Park Master Plan Report 2015
“It wasn't until I moved here that I had that exposure to different cultures, and I got to see our lives change. When I was little, this community was mostly Hispanic and African Americans. And now, you see there's a lot more people living here that are Asian American, that are white, that are Puerto Rican, Cuban. We have different cultures starting to indent, and I think that's something really good that we have going on.”
Aracely Tellez
Some of the students who have received scholarships from Dove Springs Proud, which has awarded 66 scholarships to students who have received funds from the civic organization this year. Source: Courtesy of Ricardo Zavala
Mural by Filberto Mendieta with help from Arturo Silva painted at East William Cannon Drive and South Pleasant Valley Road to spread awareness and keep the memory of Vanessa Guillen alive.
Mural of Vanessa Guillen Source: Jay Janner/Austin American Statesmen
“There is a lot of green. A lot of trees, and some vegetation, because Mother Earth likes to have the ground covered. Whether we like to have vegetation or not, she likes to have the ground covered. The other color is yellow or brown from drought. Those are the two basic colors, and, of course, blue for the sky. There are a lot of cardinals and blue jays. Of course doves, white wing doves. Now we have white wings, and mourning doves, both.”
JaNet Booher
A Mexican Eagle, also called a Northern Crested Caracara ,surveying the neighborhood. Source: Susan Willard
“People are washing their cars and stuff. So, all the noise of washing the cars, and the water spraying the car, and the people using the vacuum to vacuum. Music blasting while they're cleaning their cars. Norteña, or rap music is going to blasting when people are washing their vehicles over there.”
Ricardo Zavala
Source: Ricardo Zavala
“There are a lot of parties in our neighborhood, and you always see people blasting music or singing karaoke, and you can hear that from our house. You can hear everything.”
Aracely Tellez
Source: Aracely Tellez
