Stephenson Preserve and Kincheonville

Long before the city acquired [Stephenson Nature Preserve](https://medium.com/@310intheshade/stephenson-nature-preserve-is-here-to-stay-19f6ee7bdc21) for outdoor education and parkland, the cedar-and-mesquite tract marked the northern edge of [Kincheonville](https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/kincheonville-tx), one of Austin's least-remembered [freedmen's communities](https://www.riseatx.org/kincheonville). Our [6.2-mile walk](https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/custom-route-f2b893b) first traces the area settled in 1865 by [Thomas Kincheon](https://www.riseatx.org/kincheonville), a formerly enslaved man from Mississippi. In the decades leading up to Austin’s 1928 city plan which cut off utilities and displaced Black residents to segregated East Austin, the area sustained a diverse mix of Black, Hispanic, and Anglo families. As noted in a [Texas Historical Commission marker](https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=166857) by Paisano and Brodie, Kincheon’s children are remembered in the names of area streets: Blumie, Elijah, and Minnie.

The residential portion of our walk continues past ranch-style houses in formerly unincorporated farmland in the Brodie Lane, Woodstone Village, and Maple Run neighborhoods which the city [annexed mostly in the 1970s](https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/2asmct/austin_annexations_by_decade_map/#lightbox). We’ll cool off in the shady Preserve, passing oak groves and old stone fences along a “spaghetti factory” of trails reputedly [carved out by motorcycles](http://www.austinexplorer.com/Locations/ShowLocation.aspx?LocationID=1790) during a civilizationally wilder era.

LOGISTICS:

• 8 AM start, on our Summer schedule • We’ll meet by the[ ](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mayfield+Cottage+and+Gardens/@30.313046,-97.771649,18.89z/data=!4m14!1m7!3m6!1s0x8644cabbb73d7e23:0xe94c125ee31f1d00!2sMayfield+Park+and+Nature+Preserve!8m2!3d30.3124627!4d-97.7706038!16s%2Fm%2F0463jzx!3m5!1s0x8644caba401c5cd1:0xe61e3c27a542a26e!8m2!3d30.3128341!4d-97.7713974!16s%2Fg%2F11_pxh6lv?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyNC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D)[small parking lot](https://maps.app.goo.gl/1MTC4i5wJDEDutyo8) in [Longview Neighborhood Park](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Longview+Neighborhood+Park/@30.2024718,-97.8288323,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x865b4b7fd1b90601:0x7fc75b0dff293cdd!8m2!3d30.2024718!4d-97.8262574!16s%2Fg%2F1yl459hhc?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) at 7609 Longview Rd. It’s a tiny lot, but there’s an [abundance of nearby street parking](https://www.spotangels.com/map?spLng=-97.7709402&spLat=30.3126815&spAddress=Mayfield%20Park%20Austin,%20Travis%20County,%20Texas,%2078703,%20USA&lng=-97.8264878831435&lat=30.198941202501018&zoom=14.46195397188944) • As always, we’ll look for a brunch/lunch place for an optional post-walk meal • [Official walk map](https://www.alltrails.com/explore/custom-routes/custom-route-f2b893b)