History and Conservation
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Barton Creek was believed to host Tonkawa and Comanche Indian camps.
The creek is named for William Barton, who built a house near Barton Springs in 1837. The springs quickly became a popular resort, and its swimming hole was replaced with a pool some time during the 1930s.
Development in Austin in the 1970s and 1980s began to threaten both the creek's water quality and wildlife. Heavy rainfall often caused pools at the springs to close due to contamination from runoff and sewer lines, the effluent of the affluent upstream subdivisions entering the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone which feeds the springs. Following public outcry, the Austin City Council passed the Barton Creek watershed ordinance in 1980 and the Comprehensive Watersheds Ordinance in 1986. Proposals in 1990 to develop land in the watershed resulted in more public outcry which spurred passage of the Save Our Springs Citizens' Initiative of 1992, which severely limited construction, curtailed tax exemptions, established pollution control standards and implemented methods for reducing accidental contamination. Now the creek is extremely murky due to the development of Barton Creek, and many plants and animals are threatened or even extinct.
Barton Creek also fronts the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, a 4,100-acre (17 km2) habitat maintained by local residents and the Nature Conservancy. The reserve is home to old-growth stands of juniper, oak, cedar and elm trees, rare woodland flowers and plants such as Heller's marbleseed and gravelbar brickellbush, endangered golden-cheeked warblers and black-capped vireos, and the threatened Guadalupe bass.
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Waterfall on Barton Creek
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Barton Springs
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Barton Creek near the Colorado River confluence
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