Our Westlake

         Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) Original developer of Westlake Hills, tells of a tip Emmett got from LBJ in1938 regarding the upcoming rehabilitation of the dams on the Colorado River. The Austin Dam had been broken for almost 30 years.

        LBJ advised Emmett of the WPA and plans to renovate the damns all up and down the Colorado River for flood control. Obviously, it would also make the currently flood-proned land, usab...

Emmett Shelton Sr.'s son Polk Shelton shares a medley of his original tunes for the Austin radio station around 2000. Emmett Shelton Sr. raised Polk in Westlake. Polk followed his father's footsteps into criminal law in Austin. However, his real love was writing songs and playing music with his friends - especially at Austin's historic Saxon Pub.
Sending Love from the Shelton Family!

• 1) Do You Really Want a Ch...

Emmett Shelton (1905-2000) was a defense attorney for some of Austin's most notorious hustlers and shares first-hand tales from roughly 100 years ago, 
        The Depression years brought out the hustlers who were looking for a quick buck. Emmett represented one such gambler who turned his talent into a legend.
         Sgt. Posie Hill (future co-owner of Hills Cafe) was an expert dice player in east Austin in the 193...

Emmett Shelton, Sr. tells of his partnership with Sterling Holloway in developing the High Road and Trail of Madrones, making the Westlake Highlands accessible.  Emmett also tells of riding horseback from where the County Line Restaurant is now located, to seal the deal with an investor the Bull Mountain property. Keep in mind, there were no roads in the Highlands at that time, no Pennybacker Bridge, no Loop 360, no Toro Canyon - j...

Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) is the Original Developer of Westlake Hills.  In this Episode, Emmett tells stories of his partnership with Sterling Holloway and putting in Toro Canyon Road and paving extensions of Westlake Drive. Emmett and his wife Joyce worked with Malcolm Fox to develop the Fast Fox and Slow Turtle Subdivisions. They had to fight the city over their 1 acre minimum lot size. 
The Shelton's won and the c...

Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) is the Original Developer of Westlake Hills.  In this episode, Emmett tells stories of working with Johnny Mussleman and Johnny's vision to develop the Westlake/Red Bud Corner. Johnny truly contributed to completing Emmett's Dream of Westlake Hills.
Emmett closes this episode with a reflection about the spirit of the dealings that Emmett and Joyce had with their business partners.

For ma...

       Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) rounds out the Chapter on developing the Westlake Peninsula with a first-hand story of the sale of the 1,000 acre Davenport Ranch in the 1940s. Nobody knew exactly where the boundaries were, but Emmett owned the surrounding ranches. Emmett traces this history back to 1840 when the Walsh family bought it to mine lime. Later, owners harvested cedar. 
        In the 1940s, Emmett took Ms. Dav...

Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) was the Original Developer of Westlake Hills. He recorded his history of the area to share with the community, even after he was gone. 
        In this Episode, Emmett tells stories about developing the Chambers Survey which includes 500 acres in the Central part of Westlake Hills - Old Stonehedge. He paid $2,000 for the 500 acres in the early 1930s. 
         The earliest house built in the ...

Emmett Shelton, Sr. (1905-2000) was the original developer of Westlake HIlls. He tells of expanding Westlake Drive to the Westlake Highlands and building Toro Canyon Road. 

In the 1940s, there was no Pennybacker Bridge or Loop 360 to provide access to this area.  One old abandoned Land Grant (Brown Survey) in Westlake Highlands caught Emmett's attention. He got possession of the 500 acres by claiming and gating it for 10 years ...

Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) Original Developer of Westlake Hills tells of developing Westlake Drive from the current corner of Redbud Trail, North to Lakeshore Addition dating back to 1920.

Even before Westlake Drive and Redbud Trail were thru, Emmett got a contract with a Professor McCorkell on 50 acres on the mountain top overlooking the Corner for $3k cash. When the Prof sold years later he got 50% per year increase.

Getting to...

Emmett Shelton (1905-2000) Original Developer of West Lake Hills tells stories from the 1930s-40s about building Westlake Drive, connecting the Bee Cave Road to Redbud Trail and the Dam Site.  The WPA had funding to improve access to the new lake. 

Emmett tells of negotiating the land purchases with the original owners. He designed and built the roads with county assistance.

Music: Daddys Dreams by Polk Shelton, Emmett's So...

Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) tells us of the changes that came to Westlake Hills in the 1930s. Prohibition ended. Bee Cave Road was paved. Electricity came to the Bee Cave Road area. 

Mervin Ash was the King Pin of gamblers in Austin. He partnered with Emmett and brother Polk, to rehabilitate the old Moose Head Lodge (at the future site of County Line on the Hill). He invested in gambling equipment and fine food and the Nightclub ...

          Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) tells one of his favorite tales - His first Westlake business and a birthday surprise.

           Emmett was 24, a recently married college graduate in 1929. He and several partners built the Moosehead Lodge - where County Line on the Hill is now located. It was in the hills - 8 miles from Austin, down the dirt road to Bee Caves and had no utilities. It was one of the first rock and mortar bu...

              Emmett Shelton Sr. tells the sad story of an Early Westlake Cedar Chopper, Tom Young. (Bless his heart, Emmett calls him Jim by mistake. A search of local newspapers from the time, verify his name was Tom Young.)
             In 1906, Emmett's father's first (and worst) criminal case was the defense of a member of the Young Family from Westlake. Tom was charged with the brutal murder of a young girl who...

          Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) shares a Thanksgiving Special. It was 74 years ago that Emmett's namesake, Emmett Jr. graduated Austin High when he was called to duty as a Marine in the Korean War. After brutal battles, Emmett Jr. spent his 19th birthday with severe frostbite - he was coming home.
          Emmett Jr. adjusted to Westlake's peaceful way of life.  One day he was challenged by some men hunting ...

         Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) shares several stories about the "Texas Hot Oil" business, and its impact on struggling families and a ex-governor, roughly 100 years ago. 
         Our first story is about the difference an oil strike can make in a family.  Mrs. O.H. Davenport is the namesake of Westlake's Davenport Ranch. Her family struck it rich in South Texas when the railroad condemned part of their ...

             Emmett Shelton Sr. (1905-2000) shares first-hand stories involving Capt. Frank Hamer, Texas Ranger.          
             Frank's brother, Capt. D.E. Hamer, was made head of the Texas Rangers when Ma Ferguson became Governor. Austin had a popular Skillball game.  Emmett had to call on Capt. D.E Hamer to protect the games from extortion from a San Antonio gang.  These were exciting times for Texas and Austinit...