Early Anglo Settlement - to 1890

The earliest plat maps, besides showing the name of Angelina D. Smith, also include that of John Henry Lohmann who bought 40 acres from her in 1847. Here he established the first, and until 1861, the only dairy in Travis County. In 1910 the first significant housing development took place on this acreage, when W.T. Caswell purchased land for the purpose of subdividing.

Map of Early Settlement of Hancock Neighborhood

Joseph Lucksinger purchased another portion of the land of the Smith property in 1871. Here he built a two-room stone cabin and established one of the first slaughterhouses in Austin, furnishing meat to Austin and state institutions, according to Susan M. Ridgway in the May 1981 issue of Austin magazine.

Early beginnings are also represented by Ideal Place, the subdivision northwest of the Hancock Golf Course, from 41st to 44th Streets along the east side of Duval Street, extending to Waller Creek. Its history commenced on Christmas Day in 1846 when Charles Klein of Switzerland arrived with his family at the Port of Galveston, Texas. He registered his mark and brand in 1847 at the Travis county courthouse. In 1848, he was granted 40 acres by the State of Texas, being Outlot No. 14 in the Division C of a tract adjoining the City of Austin. On census records, he is listed as a stock-raiser and farmer. The property remained in the family until the 1890s, when it passed to others. By 1911 T. H. Barrow, an Austin realtor, and W. K. Ward of Ellis County, owned Outlot 14, and filed the plat for Ideal Place at the Travis County Courthouse.

A notable individual living in the Hancock area during this period was Susanna Dickinson, who with her infant daughter Angelina, survived the carnage of the Alamo, as they were given leave by Santa Anna. According to Women in Early Texas, edited by Evelyn M. Carrington, Dickinson, with her husband, Joseph W. Henning, moved to the corner of Duval and 32nd streets in the 1870s. She lived until 1883. Henning, who had opened a furniture and cabinet shop at 205 east Pecan, continued to trade in real estate.