Beth’s Mobile Home Park is one of Del Valle’s long forgotten trailer parks. This news article will explain the history behind Beth’s Mobile Home Park.
Beth’s Mobile Home Park was established at what was 2615 Bastrop Highway (2615 Bastrop Hwy) across Highway 71 from Bergstrom Air Force Base (now Austin Bergstrom International Airport) in 1963. F. J. Johnson was the owner and operator of Beth's Mobile Home Trailer Park on the Bastrop Highway. He served as operations manager. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/357732215/)
Amenities of Beth’s Mobile Home Park included fenced yards, large patios, clothes lines, street lights, and shade trees. All starting from $400 and up. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/378976185)
Ruby Kieke Flow, along with her husband, Edward T. Flow, owned the land where F. J. Johnson operated Beth’s Mobile Home Park on. F. J. Johnson did not own this land himself. (Ref: http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?prop_id=291985&year=2021)
A natural disaster occurred when winds from a twister violent enough to overturn a mobile trailer home swept through Beth’s Mobile Home Park on the date of March 28, 1966. Winds were violent enough to overturn a mobile trailer home and "rock" several other trailer houses due to the velocity from the high wind turbulence. A trailer home had toppled and caught on fire. The Weather Bureau classified this natural disaster as a thunderstorm. However folks around Del Valle were calling it a "twister" of sorts. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=58360575&article=089bf5e7-2724-43d6-89ce-b019909fe30f)
[A Bergstrom airman, his wife and three children escaped injury when their trailer home was toppled and caught on fire. F. J. Johnson, operator of Beth's Mobile Home Trailer Park on the Bastrop Highway, said Airman First Class Rene Gamboa was taking a bath when the winds overturned his trailer. "He threw his wife and children out the back door and climbed out naked," Johnson said.]
Permanent spaces for under 40' RVs began being advertised in the Austin American-Statesman newspaper in 1983. Beth's Mobile Home Park was across from base housing. The phone number for Beth’s Mobile Home Park was 512-385-0361. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/379341105/)
Austin American-Statesman listed Beth's Mobile Home Park as the “Best Trailer Park” in the classified ads section of their newspaper. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/379347847/)
Trash fires were common at Beth’s Mobile Home Park. 2 to 4 trash fires occurred and were ignited in a 10 year period. Here are some examples.
Another tragedy occurred when another fire torched the place on the night of November 13, 1976. Although this fire was a suspicious fire. Firefighters were called to Beth's Mobile Home Park at 7:52 p.m. to extinguish a trash fire that had gotten out of control. A building which had been abandoned for about 2 years engulfed in flames on the night of November 13, 1976. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/378977730/)
“A spokesman for the Travis County sheriff's office said the building contained some kind of combustible material. Firemen, according to the sheriff's office, were called to Beth's Mobile Home Park, 2815 Bastrop Hwy., at 7:52 p.m. to extinguish a trash fire that had gotten out of control.”
Another unfortunate incident occurred in 1993 when another suspicious trash fire torched Beth’s Mobile Home Park. Fifteen firefighters from the Southeast Travis County Volunteer Fire Department spent four days and $5,000 fighting a trash fire. Fortunately no injuries were reported. However it took 3 more day to extinguish the smoldering remains because it was a "deep fire" with trash piled up from 6 to 10 feet in height. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/355992845/)
[Fifteen firefighters from the Southeast Travis County Volunteer Fire Department spent four days and $5,000 last week fighting a trash fire. SETCO Fire Chief Robert Lee said the fire at 2815 Bastrop Highway was a precarious situation." The cause of the fire is "suspicious" and under investigation, he said. Firefighters worked one day to control the fire, which was reported June 16, and three more days to extinguish the smoldering remains because it was a "deep fire" with trash piled up from 6 to 10 feet, Lee said. No injuries were reported.]
Ruby Kieke Flow gave the land to a trustee in 1987. The land was gifted to a woman named Diane Turner on substitute trustee deed on the date of 1/7/1992. (Ref: http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?prop_id=291985&year=2021)
The 1993 trash fire which occurred at Beth’s Mobile Home Park torched the entire trailer park. All smoldering remains extinguished after being charred during the trash fire. Nearly nothing left remained afterwards. This led F. J. Johnson to shut down Beth’s Mobile Home Park.
Another unfortunate incident occurred on the day of June 24, 1993 when another suspicious trash fire. Fifteen firefighters from the Southeast Travis County Volunteer Fire Department spent four days and $5,000 fighting a trash fire. Fortunately no injuries were reported. However it took 3 more day to extinguish the smoldering remains because it was a "deep fire" with trash piled up from 6 to 10 feet in height. (Ref: https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/355992845/)
[Fifteen firefighters from the Southeast Travis County Volunteer Fire Department spent four days and $5,000 last week fighting a trash fire. SETCO Fire Chief Robert Lee said the fire at 2815 Bastrop Highway was a precarious situation." The cause of the fire is "suspicious" and under investigation, he said. Firefighters worked one day to control the fire, which was reported June 16, and three more days to extinguish the smoldering remains because it was a "deep fire" with trash piled up from 6 to 10 feet, Lee said. No injuries were reported.]
All trailers were removed or hauled off by 1995. Today only the concrete slabs remain of Beth’s Mobile Home Park.
Beth’s Mobile Home Park was located at 2615 East Highway 71, Del Valle, Texas, US 78617. The other addresses were 2615 Bastrop Highway, Del Valle, Texas, US 78617 and 2815 Bastrop Highway, Del Valle, Texas, US 78617.
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