Ashford McGill House (Zilker Park Refectory)
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Originally built in the 1870s for Austin pioneer Ashford McGill, this native limestone structure and the surrounding property were purchased by Andrew J. Zilker who conveyed the land to the city for a park in 1931. Remodeled by the Federal Civil Works Administration for use as a multiple purpose park building, the house now exhibits 1930s-era detailing, including a pergola-covered courtyard. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1990
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
This sturdy limestone house was raised in the 1870s for Austin pioneer Ashford McGill, decades before the land around it became a beloved public park. Businessman Andrew J. Zilker bought the property and gave it to the city in 1931, and Depression-era workers from the Federal Civil Works Administration remodeled the old home into a park building, adding the pergola-shaded courtyard visible today. It stands as a layered artifact — pioneer stonework wrapped in 1930s public-works craftsmanship.
Why it matters
The building bridges frontier Austin and the New Deal, showing how a private homestead could be reborn as shared civic space.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Ashford McGill
- · Andrew J. Zilker
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Swedes of Texas
Austin, TX
Swedish immigration to Texas began in 1838 with the arrival of Swen Magnus, who settled on the gulf coast before moving to Austin and establishing a ranch he named Govalle, or "good grazing land." With his uncle Svante Palm, he actively promoted Swedish immigration, and by 1910 some 7,000 Swedes had built farms, businesses, and churches, concentrated in eastern Travis and Williamson counties. They founded colleges, a mutual aid society, a Swedish-language newspaper, and carried on festivals like St. Lucia and Midsummer.
Travis County
Austin, TX
Created in 1840 and organized in 1843, Travis County honors William Barrett Travis, the young South Carolina-born commander who died at the Alamo in 1836. Its seat, Austin, was chosen as the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1839 and confirmed as the permanent state capital by popular vote in 1850. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936, the centennial of the revolution Travis helped ignite.
Barton Springs
Austin, TX
Fed by the Balcones Fault and gushing millions of gallons daily, Barton Springs drew people long before Austin existed — Native peoples, then Spanish friars who placed three missions here in 1730–31, then settler William "Uncle Billy" Barton, who patented the land around 1837 and named springs for his daughters. His tame buffalo calves lured sightseers even amid the danger of frontier raids, and over the decades bathhouses, mills, a merry-go-round, and excursion boats turned the spot into a playground. A.J. Zilker eventually deeded the land to Austin as the beloved public park it remains.
Home of Effie and Wylie Bennett
Austin, TX
This marker records a vanished homestead in what is now Austin, noting that the house of Effie Cara and Wylie Wilson Bennett once stood here alongside its windmill. Windmills were essential to Central Texas households, drawing groundwater in a region where surface water was unreliable, and their presence signals the era of family farms and ranch homes that preceded the city's growth. The marker preserves the memory of an ordinary Texas family and the place they called home.