Barton Hills is a neighborhood in Austin

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. It is located in south Austin, and encompasses part of ZIP code

ZIP Code

ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 78704.

Barton Hills is bounded by South Lamar

South Lamar, Austin, Texas

South Lamar, Austin, Texas is a neighborhood in south Austin, Texas, United States.South Lamar is bounded by Ben White Boulevard/TX-71 and Westgate to the south, South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Hills and Galindo to the east....

 and Zilker

Zilker, Austin, Texas

Zilker is a neighborhood in south central Austin, Texas. It extends south of Lady Bird Lake, approximately bounded by Lamar Boulevard to the southeast/south, La Casa Drive to the south, Rabb Road and Robert E Lee Road to the west and Barton Springs Road to the north.Directly northwest of Zilker is...

 neighborhoods to the east, Barton Springs Road and Zilker Park to the north, Barton Creek and the Spyglass-Barton's Bluff

Spyglass-Barton's Bluff, Austin, Texas

Spyglass-Barton's Bluff is a neighborhood in Austin, Texas. It is located southwest of the city's urban core, and encompasses ZIP codes 78746 and 78704....

 neighborhood to the west and the Capital of Texas Highway to the south.

Barton Hills is primarily residential, with the oldest homes dating back to the 1940s. Additionally, the area is home to several attractions including the Barton Creek Greenbelt nature preserve and the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum. Just north of the nieghborhood are Barton Springs Pool

Barton Springs Pool

Barton Springs Pool is a man-made recreational swimming pool located on the grounds of Zilker Park in Austin, Texas. The pool exists in the channel of Barton Creek and is filled by water from Main Barton Spring, the fourth largest spring in Texas...

, a natural spring fed by Barton Creek, and the 351-acre Zilker Park.

History

In 1837, William "Uncle Billy" Barton set up his pioneer homestead near a natural spring on the southern bank of the Colorado River

Colorado River (Texas)

The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....

, naming the springs after his daughters Parthenia, Eliza and Zenobia. Their names did not stick, but William's did and 160 years later the springs, the pool and several popular Austin neighborhoods bear the name "Barton."

Established in the 1940s and 1950s with construction continuing through the 1970s to the late 1990s, Barton Hills is dotted with all kinds of homes. Barton Hills was featured in Austin’s 1956 Parade of Homes as “the world’s largest air conditioned subdivision.” Beginning in that year, it was platted as subdivision in six sections by S.R. Sheppard, Builders Development Corporation and others. Barton Hills eventually had 1,585 lots planned on its 535 acres (0.84 square mile).

Demographics

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the area defined as Barton Hills was 7,993 in 2009, across an area of 3.199 square miles. The population density per square miles is 2,499, just below the citywide average of 2,610 people per square mile. The racial breakdown is 80% white, 12% Hispanic/Latino, 4% Asian/Pacific Island, 2% black and 2% other. Median household income in 2009 was $51,930, slightly above the median household income for the city at large. The average estimated value of detached houses in 2009 was $395,682, notably higher than the citywide average of $286,025.

Education

Barton Hills is served by the Austin Independent School District

Austin Independent School District

Austin Independent School District is a school district that is based in the city of Austin, Texas, United States. It was established in 1881. Its current superintendent is...

:

• Barton Hills Elementary School and Zilker Elementary School
• O. Henry Middle School
  O. Henry Middle School
  O. Henry Middle School is a middle school located in the Tarrytown neighborhood of Austin, Texas and is a part of the Austin Independent School District. It is named after author William Sydney Porter, whose pen name was O. Henry...
  
  
• Austin High School
  Austin High School (Austin, Texas)
  Stephen F. Austin High School, or more commonly Austin High, founded in 1881, is one of the oldest public high schools west of the Mississippi River, and was the first public high school in the state of Texas....
  
  

External Links

• Barton Hills Neighborhood Association