Prior to 1948, a man named Vernon Eugene Grove owned 363 acres of what used to be called Grove Trailer Court. Vernon Eugene Grove owned the land since 1922. Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. lived on the same land since birth.
In 1948, Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. purchased land via a deed from his father Vernon Eugene Grove from his estate via an estate deed after he passed away. After Vernon Eugene Grove Sr. passed away, the land reverted to Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. and his wife on a estate deed and residuary trust.
A road called Grove Drive was laid out and plotted in 1948 at the exact time the first bridge was constructed. Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. and his wife Joyce L. Grove built a house on the property later. Dr. Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. was a private practitioner from Austin, Texas.
Grove Trailer Court was established as a trailer park in 1950 by Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. and his wife Joyce L. Grove. They both owned land that was a part of their own farmland and decided to establish a trailer park that would become Grove Trailer Court. They used 11 acres out of 13.11 acres to create the trailer park. A 2 story house was built in 1950.
Grove Trailer Court was established at the address of 6200 Grove Drive, Austin, Texas, US 78741 located near the intersection of Grove Drive & Montopolis Drive.
The scenic riverside view of the Colorado River made the trailer park an idea location for people to live there. Grove Trailer Court was located less than an acre away from the Colorado River.
Grove Trailer Court began showing up on maps by 1956. On the 1956 topographical map for Montopolis Quadrangle, “Grove Trailer Court” appeared under the name “Trailer Park”. A gaging station appeared west of Montopolis Bridge. A second bridge was built in 1956 which still stands today.
The trailer park would later grow to expand up to 13.11 acres by 1961. 2 new gaging stations were installed in 1970. Grove Trailer Court grew up to expand towards 15 acres by 1973. Over 100 residents lived at Grove Trailer Court by 1973.
Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. sold the land for Grove Trailer Court to the City of Austin on the date of 5/6/1981 on a warranty deed. By agreement on the warranty deed, the city could take over the land when Vernon and his wife Joyce were deceased.
By 1994, Grove Trailer Court was demolished and discontinued due to the location being located in a 25 year floodplain. 2 times every 25 years or so, it would flood. Or at least when Austin received heavy amounts of rain. This would flood the trailer park and cause heavy amounts of damage.
The City of Austin made part of the Grove Trailer Court become the Lakeshore Park in 1995. City of Austin replanted glass plats over the roads from the former trailer park.
The road that once connected to Grove Trailer Court continued onto Montopolis Bridge. The road was called Grove Drive. Grove Drive was named after Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. and his wife Joyce L. Grove. An actual road past the trailer park connected to Montopolis Bridge.
By 2003, all 32.53 acres of the property belonging to Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. had been demolished. The 363 acres of 6200 Grove Drive became Roy G. Guerrero Park and Montopolis Sports Complex in 2003. The land became vacant land by 2004 as the City of Austin took control over the Estate of Vernon Eugene Grove Jr. at the time from an executor deed and a special warranty deed.
Grove Trailer Court has been mention and reported on in the Austin American-Statesman newspaper a number of times over the years. For instance in 2015 about if Spanish missions really existing in Austin. (Ref: Austin American-Statesman, Did Spanish missions really exist on Austin bluffs in 1730?, Steven Gonzales keeps an eye out for evidence in the Montopolis hills., June 25, 2015)
The property of 6218 Grove Drive became Grove Gardens in 2015. This vacant lot was once home to Grove Trailer Court. Matt Simon owns this property today along with City of Austin. Old bamboo has been cut down and new bamboo has been planted in place. Grove Gardens was not cleared of bamboo in a single weekend.
Grove Gardens is a riverside lot in the historic Montopolis neighborhood of Austin undergoing a permaculturally minded transition to an ecological campground. Matt Simon has plans to turn this vacant lot into a community garden similar to the Cherry Creek Community Garden on Bayton Loop near Westgate Boulevard.
Today in the 21st century, Grove Trailer Court remains one of the many forgotten trailer parks of Austin, Texas. A weathered sign for the Grove Trailer Court is all that remains of this trailer park enclave.
Grove Trailer Court was located at the address of 6200 Grove Drive, Austin, Texas, US 78741. Grove Trailer Court Headquarters were located at 6218 Grove Drive, Austin, Texas, US 78741.
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