Oak Hill, Austin, Texas

Oak Hill Station Post Office

Will Hampton Branch at Oak Hill

Oak Hill is a community in southwest Austin, Texas, United States that was formerly a distinct unincorporated area in southwestern Travis County. Originally called Live Oak Springs, Oak Hill is located on U.S. Highway 290 and Williamson Creek, eight miles (13 km) south of Downtown Austin.^[1]

History

An 1865 attempt to establish the community of Shiloh failed. Oak Hill was originally called Live Oak Springs. The Live Oak and Oatmanville schools gave their names to the community for a period. In 1870, a post office opened in the area. The Oak Hill community found success in the 1880s due to its stone quarry supplies; a new capitol building was opening in Austin during that period. In 1884, the community had 75 residents, four saloons, and one general store. Area farmers shipped cotton, hides, wool, and pecans, which were Oak Hill's principal commodities. In 1904, Oak Hill had 200 residents. The Oak Hill post office closed in 1910; the community received and sent mail in Austin. Oak Hill had around 400 people in the 1970s and 1980s. By 2000, the City of Austin annexed the Oak Hill area. Many streets and businesses identified the community as Oak Hill.^[1]

Neighborhoods

Homeowner associations which are a part of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods (OHAN) are Appaloosa Run, Cherry Creek on Brodie, Circle C Ranch, Covered Bridges, Estates of Shadow Ridge, Granada Hills, Hill Country Estates, Legend Oaks, Legend Oaks II, Estates of Loma Vista, Meridian, New Villages at Western Oaks, Oak Acres, Regent Hills, Scenic Brook West, Sendera, South Windmill Run, Travis Country West, Valley View, Villages of Shady Hollow, Westcreek, Western Oaks, Westview Estates, Wyldwood-Kellywood, and Neighbors of Zyle Road.^[2]

Boundaries

Oak Hill has no legal boundaries. The Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods roughly defines the area as the “neighborhoods bordering Brodie Lane down to the Travis/Hays County line, following the county line on the south up to Highway 290 West, and then neighborhoods bordering Circle Drive and Thomas Springs Road and finally along the Southwest Parkway.” This area includes approximately the 78735, 78736, 78737, 78739, 78748, and 78749 zip codes.^[3]

Media

Oak Hill also has its own community newspaper, the Oak Hill Gazette ¹, which has exclusive coverage of the news and events in the area.

290/71 Highway Expansion

Currently, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDot) is planning to expand highway 290/71, the Highway 290 West project. This has caused a lot of debate within the Oak Hill community.^{[citation needed]}

TxDOT has designed a variety of options for 290/71 and is seeking community input on those designs. They can be viewed on TxDOT's web site

A local citizen's group, Fix290, has proposed a parkway design as an alternative to TxDOT's raised platform designs.

Many articles regarding the 71/290 project and the surrounding controversy can be viewed at the Oak Hill Gazette.

Government and infrastructure

Local government

The areas in Austin are within the Austin Fire Department. The stations that serve Oak Hill include 27 at 5401 McCarty Lane, 29 at 3704 Deer Lane, 37 at 8660 Texas State Highway 71 West, 42 at 2454 Cardinal Loop, and 43 at 11401 Escarpment Boulevard. The Oak Hill Fire Department, with two stations, serves unincorporated areas.^[4] The areas in Austin are within the Austin Police Department. The Southwest Patrol, headquartered at 539-A West Oltorf Road, patrols Oak Hill. Unincorporated areas are served by Travis County Sheriff's Office Constable Precinct 3.^[5]

County, state, and federal representation

The United States Postal Service Oak Hill Station Post Office is located at 6104 Old Fredericksburg Road.^[5][6]

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Covington Middle School

Small Middle School

Oak Hill is within the Austin Independent School District.

Public elementary schools serving Oak Hill include Cowan, Galindo, Kiker, Kokurek, Menchaca, Mills, Oak Hill, and Patton. Public middle schools serving Oak Hill include Bailey, Covington, O. Henry, and Small. Public high schools serving Oak Hill include Akins, Austin, Bowie, and Travis.^[7]

In 1961, the Oak Hill and Manchaca districts joined forces to form a rural high school district. AISD annexed the entire high school district in 1967.^[8] Several schools opened since the AISD annexation. Oak Hill Elementary School was built in 1974.^[9] The current Austin High School campus was built in 1975.^[10] Menchaca was built in 1977.^[11] Patton was built in 1985.^[12] Covington,^[13] Galindo,^[14] and Kocurek were built in 1986.^[15] Bowie was built in 1988.^[16] Kiker was built in 1992.^[17] Bailey was built in 1993.^[18] Small and Mills were built in 1998.^[19][20] Cowan was built in 1999.^[21] Akins was built in 2000.^[22]

Private schools

Private schools in the area include Regents School of Austin (K–12),^[23] Austin City Academy (K–12),^[24] Austin Waldorf School (K–12),^[25] St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Upper campus, 9-12, is in Oak Hill^[26]), and Cedars Montessori School of Oak Hill.^[7]

Waldorf opened in 1980.^[25] Regents opened on August 31, 1992.^[27]

Community colleges

Austin Community College operates the ACC Pinnacle Campus.^[7]

Public libraries

Austin Public Library operates the Hampton Branch at Oak Hill at 5125 Convict Hill Road. The 8,400-square-foot (780 m²) library, funded by a 1992 bond campaign, opened on April 26, 1997.^[28]

Gallery

• 

  Oak Hill Elementary School

• 

  Patton Elementary School

Health care

CommUnityCare, a health care provider, operates the Oak Hill Health Center at 8656-A Texas State Highway 71 West.^[29] CommUnityCare was formerly Community Health Centers, a department of the City of Austin. In March 2009 the department became a 501(c) (3) non-profit corporation.^[30]

Notable residents

Notable residents (former or present) include:

• Bob Trocolor (1917–1984) – born in Oak Hill; NFL player, college football and basketball head coach; movie actor

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Oak Hill, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
2. ^ "OHAN Member Organizations." Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods. Retrieved on December 20, 2008. Edited on April 29, 2009, to include Meridian
3. ^ "Where is Oak Hill?." Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
4. ^ "Stations." Oak Hill Fire Department. Retrieved on April 19, 2009.
5. ^ ^{a b} "Oak Hill Help Guide." Oak Hill Association. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.
6. ^ "Post Office Location - Oak Hill Station." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on December 13, 2008.
7. ^ ^{a b c} "Oak Hill Schools." Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
8. ^ Manchaca, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online
9. ^ "Campus Facts." Oak Hill Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
10. ^ "Campus Facts." Austin High School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
11. ^ "Campus Facts." Menchaca Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
12. ^ "Campus Facts." Patton Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
13. ^ "Campus Facts." Covington Middle School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
14. ^ "Campus Facts." Galindo Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
15. ^ "Campus Facts." Kocurek Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
16. ^ "Campus Facts." Bowie High School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
17. ^ "Campus Facts." Kiker Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
18. ^ "Campus Facts." Bailey Middle School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
19. ^ "Campus Facts." Small Middle School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
20. ^ "Campus Facts." Mills Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
21. ^ "Campus Facts." Cowan Elementary School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
22. ^ "Campus Facts." Akins High School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
23. ^ "6 Steps to Apply." Regents School of Austin. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
24. ^ Home page. Austin City Academy. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
25. ^ ^{a b} "About Waldorf." Austin Waldorf School. Retrieved on April 20, 2009.
26. ^ "About Us." St. Andrew's Episcopal School. Retrieved on April 19, 2009.
27. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions." Regents School of Austin. Retrieved on April 19, 2009.
28. ^ "Hampton Branch at Oak Hill." Austin Public Library. Retrieved on December 20, 2008.
29. ^ "Oak Hill Health Center." CommUnity Care. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.
30. ^ "Welcome to CommUnityCare." CommUnityCare. Retrieved on April 22, 2009.

External links

• Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods
• Oak Hill Gazette
• Oak Hill Business & Professional Association
• Oak Hill, Texas from the Handbook of Texas Online

Coordinates: 30°14′7″N 97°51′35″W / 30.23528°N 97.85972°W / 30.23528; -97.85972