Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, December 8, 2025

1. Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby Marker

Inscription.

Site of the home built in 1832 by Reuben Hornsby (1793-1879) and his wife Sarah Morrison Hornsby (1796-1862).

Second built in “Austin’s Little Colony”. First in the present county of Travis.

Famed for Christian hospitality.

Here Josiah Wilbarger recovered after being scalped in 1833.

Mr. Hornsby and his son’s fought in many Indian battles and served as scouts in Capt. John J. Tumlinson’s company of Rangers, which was organized here in 1836.

Erected 1936 by State of Texas. (Marker Number 14616.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Texas 1936 Centennial Markers and Monuments series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1832.

Location. 30° 15.444′ N, 97° 37.303′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. It can be reached from Farm to Market Road 969 west of Farm to Market Road 973, on the right when traveling west. The marker is located on a dirt road toward Hornsby Cemetery on the right behind barbed wire fence on private property. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Austin TX 78725, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Central Texas.

It is also in the American South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Josephus Hornsby (about 600 feet away,

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measured in a direct line); John Williams and Howell Haggett (about 600 feet away); Reuben Hornsby (approx. 0.8 miles away); Decker United Methodist Church and Community (approx. 3.6 miles away); The Texas Centennial Historic Marker & Fort Colorado (approx. 3.7 miles away); Site of Fort Colorado (approx. 3.7 miles away); First Colored Baptist Church (approx. 4 miles away); Del Valle Army Air Base (approx. 4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Austin.

Additional commentary.
1. Background on marker
Travis County Historical Commission has been working to get background on this marker, specifically if the location is indeed the site of Reuben Hornsby's home. Dorothy Landoll, Hornsby Cemetery Board President, says she believes the marker is indeed at or very near the home site; there were still many Hornsby family members / descendants still living on the Hornsby League in 1936 that would have known the home's location. Although the home was gone by 1936, she has been told that in the 1920s the chimney was still standing.

Photographed by Richard Denney, June 29, 2020

2. Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby Marker
Wide angle view of marker off road.
— Submitted May 13, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas.

Photographed by Richard Denney, June 29, 2020

3. Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby Marker

Marker in context of the road to Hornsby Bend Cemetery.

Photographed by Richard Denney, June 29, 2020

4. Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby Marker

Photographed by Keith Peterson, July 29, 2007

5. Site of Home of Reuben Hornsby Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on December 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 28, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,964 times since then and 90 times this year. Last updated on June 30, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. Photos: 1. submitted on December 11, 2025, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 30, 2020, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. 5. submitted on December 28, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.