Jump to content

Buescher State Park

Coordinates: 30°02′19″N 97°09′30″W / 30.0387°N 97.1583°W / 30.0387; -97.1583
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zackmann08 (talk | contribs) at 22:13, 18 November 2016 (Fixing infobox not to use deprecated coordinates format). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Buescher State Park
Park Lake in Buescher State Park is a favorite with anglers.
Map showing the location of Buescher State Park
Map showing the location of Buescher State Park
LocationBastrop County, Texas
Nearest citySmithville, Texas
Coordinates30°02′19″N 97°09′30″W / 30.0387°N 97.1583°W / 30.0387; -97.1583
Area1,016.7 acres (411 ha)
Established1940
Governing bodyTexas Parks and Wildlife Department

Buescher State Park is a state park located just north of Smithville, Texas. The park consists of 1,016.7 acres (411 ha) of public land donated to the state by Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher, as well as the City of Smithville.

History

A group shelter built by the Civilian Conservation Corps at the Lakeview Camping Area at Buescher State Park.

Between the years 1933 and 1936, Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher deeded 318 acres (129 ha) of land to the State of Texas. After Emil Buescher's death, his heirs donated 318 acres (1.29 km2) more. The rest of the parkland was acquired from the city of Smithville.

Companies 1805 and 1811 of the Civilian Conservation Corps built many of the park facilities between 1933 and 1939 using native stone to better blend with the surrounding landscape.

When it opened in 1940, the park was 1,738 acres (703 ha). In 1967, the Texas Legislature transferred 700 acres (280 ha) to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for use as a science park research facility.

Features

The park features a 7.7-mile (12.4 km) round trip hiking trail through the park's undeveloped area. There is also a small lake open for canoeing and fishing. The lake is stocked with crappie, catfish and bass year around and with rainbow trout in winter. Camping and picnicking areas are available.

Buescher is less than four miles (6 km) to the east of Bastrop State Park and the two are connected by Park Road 1.

Fauna

Over 250 species of birds have been spotted in the park throughout the year. Mammals include White-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and armadillos.

See also