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The Hays County Commissioners court honored a family that was pivotal in the development of Dripping Springs and provided so many valuable resources to the town by opening their property to it. The court proclaimed Dec. 8, 2023 as the Pound House Farmstead Day.
The Pound House Farmstead Board of Trustees had a ribbon cutting for the grand reopening, which was also a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the museum, on Friday, Dec. 8 at 12 p.m.
Hays County Historical Commission Chair Linda Coker said the Pound House Farmstead is a truly unique place and invited the public to come see it. She pointed out that Hays County is an area rich with history from the Coahuiltecan people of 12,000 years ago to the people of today, and the farmstead is just one of those local gems from the past.
According to the proclamation, Joseph M. Pound first came to Texas in 1847 to fight in the war against Mexico and later got his medical degree. In approximately 1854, he and his wife, Sarah Pound, built a log cabin in an untamed area of central Texas, which is present day Dripping Springs.
“The Pound family grew with nine children, seven of whom lived to adulthood and were raised on a farm; four generations occupied the farmstead over a period of 130 years until 1983,” the proclamation stated. ‘The Pound family never modernized the home. In fact, the last living descendant to occupy the homes, in the 1980s, never installed indoor plumbing still using an outhouse and outdoor bathing facilities. The only exception is that electricity was added in 1947.”
The proclamation stated that the Pound family envisioned an industrious and thriving town, which would ultimately be the case.
“They worked hard to lay a firm foundation of community and education as a founding family of what is now Dripping Springs. The Pounds were at the hub of community life opening their house and grounds to serve as a medical office, hospital, church sanctuary, schoolhouse and social gathering place,” the proclamation stated. ‘Dr. Pound was well advanced in today’s sustainable living mindset having built into the home and outbuilding a rain collection cistern, a self watering trough for animals and an amazing in-ground haunt house that kept his medicinal herbs and vegetable seedlings growing all winter.”
In 1983, the proclamation stated that the current estate owner and Pound’s great granddaughter Marguerite Cavett Hammack gave the family’s property and contents to be established as a museum. This donation included the six room house with dogtrot porches, harbor, four fireplaces and water collection cistern, among other items.
“This donation included artifacts that belonged to three generations of Pounds. Ninety percent of the museum's collections belonged to family members making this display personal and unique,” the proclamation stated. “The Pound House is included in the National Register of Historic Places and has been a Texas state historical landmark since 1965. It has been a museum since May 4, 2003. Today the Dr. Pound Historical Farmstead provides historical education, a destination point for visitors and a gathering place for the community for the enjoyment and benefit of present and future generations.
Hays County Commissioner Walt Smith thanked the Pound House Farmstead Board for requesting that he create the proclamation.
“Since moving to Dripping Springs in 2012, my family’s actually been active with the foundation,” Smith said. “What they’ve been able to do there is just amazing. I’m very proud to be associated with it.”
