Mount Bonnell
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Rising 775 feet above sea level, this limestone height was named for George W. Bonnell, who came to Texas with others to fight for Texas independence, 1836. Was commissioner of Indian Affairs in Republic of Texas under president Sam Houston. Moved in 1839 to Austin; there published the "Texas Sentinel", 1840. Member Texan-Santa Fe expedition, 1841. Was captured but released in time to join Mier expedition, 1842. Was killed in camp on Rio Grande, Dec, 26, 1842. Frontiersman W.A.A. "Bigfoot" Wallace killed an Indian he met face to face while crossing a narrow ledge 50 feet above river, 1839. He also took refuge in a Mount Bonnell cave to recover from "flux", but was missing so long his sweetheart eloped. In the mid-1800s Mormons built a mill on the Colorado river at foot of Mount Bonnell. Mill was destroyed by flood and the Mormons moved on west. Mount Bonnell was site of picnics and outings in 1850s and 1860s. As it is today. Legend has it that an excursion to the place in the1850s inspired the popular song "Wait for the Wagon and We'll All Take a Ride". As a stunt in 1898, Miss Hazel Keyes slid down a cable stretched from the top of Mount Bonnell to south bank of then Lake McDonald below. (1969)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Rising 775 feet above the Colorado River, this limestone height is named for George W. Bonnell, who came to fight for Texas independence in 1836, served the Republic as commissioner of Indian Affairs, and died on the Rio Grande in 1842 after joining the ill-fated Texan–Santa Fe and Mier expeditions. Around it swirl Austin's founding-era legends—of Bigfoot Wallace, Mormon millers, and 1850s picnickers. The overlook has been a favorite lookout and gathering place since the Republic of Texas.
Why it matters
Mount Bonnell ties Austin's dramatic landscape to the adventurers and folklore of the Republic of Texas frontier.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
Mount Bonnell rises above the Colorado River at the western edge of what became Austin, and its story begins with the Republic of Texas. After Texas won independence from Mexico in 1836, it spent nearly a decade as an independent nation. The republic was short of money, contested at its borders, and in constant conflict with the Native peoples whose homelands it claimed.
Austin was chosen as the capital in 1839 and was then a raw frontier settlement on the edge of settled Texas. The limestone hills along the river looked out over country that was still dangerous and largely unsettled by Anglo Americans. A high point like Mount Bonnell gave a commanding view of a young capital and the wild country beyond it.
In the decades that followed, as Austin grew from outpost to city, the same height took on a gentler role. By the 1850s and 1860s it had become a favorite spot for picnics and outings, and it has stayed one ever since.
People & events
The mountain takes its name from George W. Bonnell, who came to Texas in 1836 to fight for independence. Under President Sam Houston he served as the republic's commissioner of Indian Affairs. He moved to Austin in 1839 and the next year published a newspaper there, the Texas Sentinel. He joined the Texan Santa Fe Expedition of 1841, an ambitious venture that ended in the capture of its members. He was released in time to join the Mier Expedition of 1842, and he was killed in camp on the Rio Grande on December 26, 1842. His life was brief, restless, and closely tied to the republic's biggest gambles.
The mountain's legends are as colorful as its namesake. Frontiersman William A. A. "Bigfoot" Wallace, one of the most storied figures of early Texas, is said to have met a Native man face to face on a narrow ledge high above the river in 1839, and only Wallace walked away. Another tale says Wallace sheltered in a cave here while recovering from "the flux," a common frontier name for a serious intestinal illness. He was gone so long that his sweetheart eloped with someone else.
In the mid-1800s, a group of Mormon settlers built a mill on the Colorado at the foot of the mountain. A flood destroyed it, and they moved on west. Later the place became a favorite gathering spot. Legend says an 1850s excursion here inspired the popular song "Wait for the Wagon and We'll All Take a Ride." In 1898 a daredevil named Hazel Keyes slid down a cable from the summit to the south bank of what was then Lake McDonald, a stunt that surely drew a crowd.
Its place in the American story
Mount Bonnell connects Austin to the years when Texas was its own nation, a chapter unique in American history. George Bonnell's career tracks the republic's defining ventures: its fight for independence, its uneasy relations with Native nations, and its bold, ill-fated expeditions toward Santa Fe and into Mexico. Tensions from those years helped set the stage for the annexation of Texas and the war with Mexico that followed.
The mountain also shows how Americans turn landscape into legend. Stories of Bigfoot Wallace, a lost love, a washed-out mill, and a song born on a wagon ride are the kind of folklore that grew up around frontier places all over the country. Some of these tales can't be verified, and the marker itself presents them as legend, but they show how people came to feel at home in a new land.
Finally, Mount Bonnell is an early example of something very American: the scenic overlook as a public gathering place. From 1850s picnickers to today's visitors, people have climbed here for the same reason, to take in the view and share it with others.
If you visit
Mount Bonnell is one of Austin's classic overlooks. The climb to the top is short, and the reward is a sweeping view of the Colorado River winding below between wooded limestone hills, with homes tucked along the banks and the city beyond. It's especially lovely late in the day, when the light softens across the water.
As you look down at the river, remember that it has worn several names and faces. In 1898, when Hazel Keyes made her daring slide, it was Lake McDonald, and today's lake reflects later dams and later changes. Try to picture a cable stretched from where you stand all the way down to the far bank.
The site is a good fit for families and makes an easy half-hour or hour stop on any Austin visit. Wear sturdy shoes, bring water in the Texas heat, and watch children near the edges, since the limestone drops off steeply. It's a place to linger, just as Austinites have done for more than 150 years.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · George W. Bonnell
- · William A. A. "Bigfoot" Wallace
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