![]() ![]() While we still can't say for sure who built the Boggy Creek farmhouse, an amateur genealogist researching her own family's relationship to Robertson recently revealed a connection between what is now Boggy Creek Farm and Republic of Texas President Sam Houston. The house has the same floor plan as a similar Greek Revival home at the French Legation, and their research reveals that the original owners did business with master builder Abner Cook, as well as two of the French Legation's residents, French Ambassador Alphonse Dubois de Saligny and Dr. Butler and Sayle contend the house was built much earlier, and they have their own speculation about a possible builder. Much of the history they've pieced together is posted on the farm's website at Butler and Sayle's extensive research reveals fascinating facets of early life on the farm and raises some questions with no definitive answers: When the house was built, and by whom? The city of Austin historic designation for the house lists the date as 1854, but that was a guess, at best. They discovered that the original 50 acres were purchased as a homestead in 1839 and that the land had belonged to two longtime Austin families before they bought it 19 years ago. In the early days of their residency, the couple spent Sunday afternoons and rainy days poring over the treasure trove of historical information at the Barker Texas History Center on the University of Texas campus as well as the Travis County archives and the Austin History Center, gathering bits of information like so many pieces of a historical jigsaw puzzle. ![]() Sayle has always said that one of the most compelling aspects of their stewardship of the farm has been researching its rich history. They've lived and farmed there ever since. Urban farmers Larry Butler and Carol Ann Sayle, the current stewards of the farm that dates back to the Republic of Texas, bought the vacant house and five weedy acres in 1992, moving in the day after the sale closed. Many of the people who shop at the biweekly Boggy Creek farm stand or attend the various events held on the shady grounds probably have no inkling of the bucolic acreage's historic significance. Stoney Creek will apply for a “Rural Legacy Easement,” so that these beautiful lands will never fall to developers.The historic farmhouse at Boggy Creek Farm (Photo by John Anderson) Our 50+ acres of woodland, home to many native animals, will stand untouched grassy hills remain the domain of fireflies and honeybees. The old fruit orchards, razed in the 1970s will be recreated. A state-of-the-art septic system will nullify any effect on local septic. ![]() By installing a variety of native plantings, refining the circulation of pedestrian and vehicular movement and stabilizing water channels, we will vastly enhance both water quality and stormwater management. A natural spring originates and runs through the Stoney Creek land, which serves as a tributary to the Antietam. A team made up of environmental advisers and landscape architects has created an intensive conservational plan to enhance the beauty and stability of the land, so that it may endure for generations to come. The property is our most prized asset, and we aim to take very good care of it. ![]()
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