The Peyton Colony aka Speaking of "Rick Peyton"...

[Bear on a bicycle]

I was scanning the map for places to ride awhile back when I noticed a small spot, kind of out on it's own, with a familiar name. It was called the "Payton Colony". Now I know what you're thinking, and you're right, they spelled it wrong. So I stored it away for a "maybe sometime in the future" ride & went on to explore other parts of Texas.

Fast forward to last Friday night. I was playing around on Google Earth, looking for a destination for my Saturday ride, when I found Hamilton Pool Preserve. This is a neat geological feature formed when a sink hole opened in a creek & a natural pool was formed. Long story short, the state noticed people going there to swim & turned it into a state park, so now you have to pay to play.


Hamilton Pool Preserve (http://maps.google.com/maps?cid=14091762971182685208&gl=us&hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=30.344186,-98.130634&spn=0.008611,0.013819&z=16&iwloc=A&iwd=1)


I decided this would be my destination & would make for a neat picture show. When I got there, I was hoping the "gate-guard-money-taking-guy" would just let me sneak in, snap a few pics & leave, but no, he wanted me to pay full price, and he said I would have to park my bike & hike about 1/4 mile or so just to get to the pool. Well, at the risk of sounding like a lazy cheap skate, I kindly said no thank you, turned around & headed out. Now
if I were going to stay & swim for a few hours, it might have been worth it.

So how does this all tie in with my name? Well it turns out, the Peyton Colony is not too far from the pool & on my way home. Pure coincidence, I swear! And, as it turns out, it is spelled exactly like my name. It was spelled wrong on the road sign originally, but they've since seen the error of their ways & corrected it. Now all is right in the world...

*Almost (as I'll explain later)...

The Peyton Colony (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&q=Peyton+Colony+Rd,+Blanco,+Blanco,+Texas+78606&sll=37.09024,-112.412109&sspn=32.38984,90&ie=UTF8&cd=1&geocode=FbfRywEdYugj-g&split=0&ll=30.136962,-98.291416&spn=0.069033,0.11055&z=13)


The entrance...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony003.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony002-1.jpg


So I turn onto the street named "Peyton Colony Rd" and press on. Its a nice little windy road with cattle guards every so often. Then I spot the school...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony012.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony007.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony008.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony011.jpg


I took these from just outside, not wanting to disturb anything. This being unfamiliar territory, I figure it's best to err on the side of caution...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony009.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony010.jpg


Next was this little church...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony013.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony015.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony015text.jpg


As I was taking these pictures, a lady steps out from the church & asks me if I'd like to see the inside. She was there cleaning & heard me pull up on the bike...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony018.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony022.jpg


And the picture on the wall behind the pulpit...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony024.jpg


And back outside again...

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony025.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony026.jpg


The lady was very nice. Her husband's family are descendants & still live in the colony. She was fairly knowledgeable & gave me a little history lesson on the area.

*And if you were paying attention while reading the historical marker, you would have noticed something else about the Peyton Colony. That's right, Peyton was the founder's first name. Oh well, so much for my family name & a historical connection.


This road leads further into the colony & the homes of the families that still live there. Out of respect for their peace & quiet, I decided this would be far enough & turned around.

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g304/Bear_on_a_bicycle/The%20Peyton%20Colony/PeytonColony027.jpg





For more info on the Peyton Colony:


Peyton Colony (Boardhouse), Texas

Back to Online Encyclopedia Index (http://www.blackpast.org/?q=view/vignettesWEST)

http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/Peyton_Colony.jpg
Peyton Colony's Mt. Horeb Baptist Church

Peyton Colony was a freedmen’s community established in 1865 by Peyton Roberts
(c.1820-1888), an ex-slave who migrated to Caldwell County, Texas. Roberts was born
enslaved on the William Roberts Plantation in Virginia. Roberts and several families on
the Roberts Plantation gained their freedom at the end of the Civil War.
In late 1865, Peyton Roberts led these families to the Texas hill country eight miles
southeast of the present-day town of Blanco. They homesteaded public land and built
cabins on their new properties. Their small community, along Boardhouse Creek,
became known as the Peyton Colony.

In 1874, Rev. Jack Burch, a freedman, from Tennessee, arrived in the Colony and
pitched a tent for the first meeting of the Mt. Horeb Baptist Church. Jim Upshear, one
of the colonists, donated land for a permanent site and the settlers built a log church,
which also served as a community school. Part of the Colony site, now a state park,
includes a cemetery with 176 graves, including Peyton Roberts and many of the original
settlers.


From here:

http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aaw/peyton-colony-boardhouse-texas


More:

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~gulino/ghosttown/payton_colony_tx.htm


And if you're into ghosts & ghost towns:

http://books.google.com/books?id=-OxnaXdxjgkC&pg=PA112&lpg=PA112&dq=peyton+colony+texas&source=bl&ots=MZ8c0Ugh3z&sig=fAp5VBJjDycek6i5PA11Q_sb1N8&hl=en&ei=4eEhStagG5OMtgeI7ZivBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5

http://www.haunted-places.com/peyton.htm



Even though I didn't get to see Hamilton Pool first hand, and didn't have a historical connection with my name, I had a great ride...


I'm Rick Peyton, you stay classy, San Diego...

:patriot:

[Georgiapeach]

Nice find, especially the schoolhouse which was largely intact.

The Hamilton Pool looks like a nice park, don't feel too bad about the State taking it over. When nice places get too popular with the gen pop they eventually fall into disrepair, at least it will have some upkeep. One of my favorite beach destinations on the West Coast of Fla. was turned into a State Park. Last time we went there it was still nice and my son found what looks like a fossilized whale tooth...we still have it.

Cheers,
Georgia

[Bear on a bicycle]

Yep, the school was in surprisingly good shape considering. I wish I would've visited the cemetery & snapped a few pics. Maybe I'll have to swing back by there...

I've asked for a "Texas State Parks Pass" (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/passes/parkpass/) for father's day, so I'll go back to the Hamilton Pool Preserve & get pictures, plus there are a few more parks I'd like to visit...

:thumb:

[bobcat]

I've asked for a "Texas State Parks Pass" (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/parkinfo/passes/parkpass/) for father's day, so I'll go back to the Hamilton Pool Preserve & get pictures, plus there are a few more parks I'd like to visit...



It's actually a Travis County park, so I don't think your state parks pass will help. It is a very nice place though, and much nicer during the week when it's not crowded.

[Bear on a bicycle]

It's actually a Travis County park, so I don't think your state parks pass will help. It is a very nice place though, and much nicer during the week when it's not crowded.


Hmmm... didn't know that...


:angryfire

[TexasShadow]

Awesome post!!:clap:

[pb641]

Very cool Bear. Thx for posting.