An afternoon spent boating with your family, riding the blue waters on a wake board, scuba diving down to the depths, sailing and watching the sun go down — these are all favorite pastimes of our beloved Lake Travis.
As the biggest water reservoir of the Highland Lakes, Lake Travis boasts activities for people of all lifestyles, and has served as home to thousands of Texans for the last century.
Residents are drawn to the open waters and the quieter pace of life that West Austin has to offer, but it’s easy to forget just how much our landscape has changed over the years … and just how much work went into creating our beloved Lake Travis.
The time was the turn of the century.
Austin was on the cusp of certain anticipated technological progress, and this included the use of dams to harness the area’s flooding rain waters for the purpose of hydroelectric power.
At the time, the land and lake that we call Lake Travis was but a big dream of big men. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson was at the forefront of the fight for hydroelectric power and the building of the seven dams that would eventually create the Highland Lakes of Central Texas.
[Read more…] about Lake Travis Area History: Mansfield Dam and Lake Travis