Bandit Cave in Rollingwood, Texas has been around since at least 1840 and the cave has most definitely existed before the Texas Revolution. The cave does not show up on the 1839 City of Austin topographic map prepared and laid out by city planner/architect Ed Waller.
History of Bandit Cave in Rollingwood, Texas has been long forgotten and has faded away from time and people’s minds. Only longtime citizens of West Lake Hills, Austin, Rollingwood, Travis County, and the Eanes area know about the history of Bandit Cave. Bandit Cave is one of the many forgotten caves of Austin and Travis County. Bandit Cave is located in a vacant lot at the intersection of Riley Road & Pickwick Lane in Rollingwood, Texas.
Over the years, Bandit Cave has through different hands of ownership from various homeowners who purchased the property. Col. Charles M. Crawford and his wife owned Bandit Cave from 1840 through the Civil War. Cecil Johnson and Cecil Johnson Jr. owned much of the land through much of the early 20th century. Lillian Crider owned the land from the 1950s onto 1971.
Bandit Cave has gone under many sets of different names and alternate aliases over the years such as.: Bandit’s Cave, Rollingwood Cave, and Amend’s Cave. Bandit Cave is most commonly known as “Bandit Cave” or simply as “Bandit’s Cave”. To Rollingwood residents this is known as “Rollingwood Cave”.
The cave called Bandit Cave was first owned by ranch owner Col. Charles M. Crawford who moved to Austin in 1840. Col. Charles M. Crawford and his wife owned the Texas Chinchilla Ranch from 1840 to the time of their deaths. On the Texas Chinchilla Ranch property was Bandit Cave.
Bandit's Cave was reputed to have been the hideout of a gang who robbed the Texas Treasury of $17,000 in 1860. The treasury was $17,000 worth of gold and silver coins located in the cave. The bandits were never caught and the loot was not recovered.
During the Civil War is when Bandit Cave became a hideout for bandits and outlaws on the run. The cave served as a hideout for bandits during the Civil War. After the Civil War is the hideout became more or less abandoned. Original entrances were filled with cement.
In 1900, the property was sold via a gift claim deed and a warranty deed to former well-known West Lake Hills resident Cecil Johnson. 1900 is when Cecil Johnson built his Johnson Ranch on the property where Bandit Cave was. After Cecil Johnson passed, a gift deed was deeded to Cecil Johnson Jr. and ownership was transferred to him. From 1900 to 1940 is when Cecil Johnson Jr. owned the land where Bandit Cave was. The Johnson Ranch continued to operated there until the land was sold.
Cecil Johnson Jr. sold the land and cave to a Dr. L. L. Amend in 1940. Dr. L. L. Amend was a chiropractor whom had owned the land property and Bandit Cave from 1940 to 1950. Dr. L. L. Amend discovered the cave in 1942.
Rollingwood resident Lilian Crider bought the property of where Bandit Cave was located in 1950 from a Dr. L. L. Amend. Many relics from her antiquities store on Barton Springs Road were preserved inside Bandit Cave. She gave tours of Bandit Cave to many local residents and citizens for many years. Lillian Crider also shared the cave with the Rollingwood community as well.
Lilian Crider and her husband used wind from Bandit Cave to provide air condition from their home. (As cited from an October 1952 news article from the Austin American-Statesman titled “Pair to Use Cave Wind to Air Condition Home.”.)
In the 1960s, neighborhood mothers decorated the cave for Halloween trick-or-treating for the neighborhood children. Rollingwood Women’s Club made it a tradition to hold Halloween parties inside Bandit Cave annually. Each Halloween is when Bandit Cave was opened to the Rollingwood Women’s Club. Pumpkin decorating contests were held in Bandits Cave. The cave was used for neighborhood parties also.
Lillian Crider sold the property to Velma Shurtleff in 1971 where they continued the tradition of the Rollingwood Women’s Club to hold Halloween parties for the neighborhood children until 1988. Prior to 1988 the Rollingwood community held Halloween parties in Bandit Cave. That all came to an abrupt halt in the year 1988 for fear out of vandalism attacks.
In 1988, the property was sold to a man named Dan McNamara who sealed Bandit Cave sealed shut with an iron door for fear out of vandalism attacks that could possibly occur. The iron door to the entrance of Bandit Cave is sealed shut on both sides. Dan McNamara was under pressure to continue this tradition after acquiring the land from prior owner Velma Shurtleff. He resisted of course.
Dan McNamara is very protective of Bandit Cave. He has not even let biologists into his cave to study the biology inside of this cave. There are digging leads in the cave, but the diggers gave up after several attempts hitting limestone.
Freddie Poer from texascavers.com claimed that Bandit Cave was turned into neighborhood yard waste dump back in 2009. However that claim was false. Bandit Cave WAS NEVER a neighborhood yard waste. As of 2009 a new fence has been covered around the property. There are no trespassing signs!
Today Bandit Cave belongs to a man named Dan McNamara who wishes to preserve the cave itself. Bandit’s Cave is privately-owned today and off limits to the public. Dan McNamara is very protective of Bandit Cave. The land and Bandit Cave are still owned by Dan McNamara.
Bandit Cave is located in a vacant lot at the intersection of Riley Road & Pickwick Lane, Rollingwood, Texas, US 78746.
I appreciate this history lesson, as a newer resident of Rollingwood. Now I know what's hiding on that mysteriously empty lot that I pass all the time. I couldn't understand why it hadn't been developed and sold as the neighborhood land value has exploded. Perhaps McNamara could donate it to the city...
ReplyDeleteThere is a cave under that empty lot which is privately owned. Development would disturb the environment around that cave.
Delete