Michael Mixerr rediscovers Can Cave in Austin, Texas. An in-depth look and insight on the geology and history of Can Cave.

Can Cave is one of the many caves that are located in North Austin and Travis County. Only so much history is known about this cave. Very few people know about Can Cave. Only cavers and spelunkers do. This news article will explore the geology, history, and biology behind Can Cave.


Michael Mixerr rediscovered Can Cave while attempting to locate Jollyville Jewel Cave during a cave exploration outing on the date of May 7, 2020. Him and Drake Darrin rediscovered this cave while exploring the very back of a vacant lot located at the address of 11586 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas, US 78759. 

Michael Mixerr states, “Can Cave is only big enough for 2 people to because this cave is narrow and not very wide. This cave is very dark on the inside. You will notice the cave is pitch black upon entry. Even with a flashlight.

Searching for this cave was a difficult task as overgrown vegetation surrounds the property. Can Cave is located southbound in the very back behind an apartment complex and is surrounded by fences. Finding an entry point to access Can Cave was difficult as Michael Mixerr discovered the previous owners of this property have filled in this cave with rocks hauled in from somewhere. “Only a narrow crawl space remains as all other entry points and access points have been filled in with rocks,” says Michael Mixerr.



Here is a summary on the geology of Can Cave.

Can Cave is a long narrow cave which gets very deep further along. Measurements for the depths of this cave are unknown. Most of the cave is filled with rocks and darkness.

There is no sense of moisture or humidity inside this cave as is the case with many of the caves in the Austin and Travis County area. The temperature of this cave is mostly dry. Humidity rate is 2% if anything. That is the highest possible rate on the humidity index.

Limestone coagulations and hard rock sediment can be found inside of this cave and all over the surrounding area. Some of the hard rock sediment has formed Today only a narrow crawl space remains as all other entry points and access points have been filled in with rocks.



Below is a history of Can Cave.

Can Cave dates back to 10,000 BC when the area along with Texas was all natural and surrounded by vegetation. Overtime limestone coagulations have formed inside of this cave giving the cave a natural look. Hard rock sediment can be found all over this cave.

Prior to 1935, J.W. Robertson, Dorothea Nell Gibson, Barbara Kay Jordan, and David L. Tisinger claimed property around Can Cave as their homestead. David L. Tisinger owned the property where Jollyvile Jewel Cave was located on as he was the person who owned all the land before anyone else did. David L. Tisinger was well aware of the caves that surrounded his property. He never filled in any of the caves. Only very few people knew about these caves. (Ref: Travis County Public Records, Volume 1993, Page 157)

David L. Tisinger and J.W. Robertson sold the property to a man named Henry M. Streety (Henry Mack Streety, Jr.) on the date of 5/10/1977 through a warranty deed. Henry M. Streety owned this land for several years. (Ref: http://propaccess.traviscad.org/clientdb/Property.aspx?prop_id=160183)

Henry M. Streety filled the entry point and access points to Jollyville Jewel Cave that were on his property in 1993. He had the entry point filled as one of the protective measures suggested by USFWS. This limited harmful activities that could occur to this cave in the future.

City of Austin real estate records from 1993 include dedicating an approximately 60-m by 80-m (about 1.20 acres) conservation easement around the cave entrance and allowing this area to remain undeveloped and in a relatively natural state. This included a 1.474 drainage easement near a gated apartment complex. (Ref: ftp.austintexas.gov/GIS-Data/PWD/RealEstate/3110.150.pdf)

Henry M. Streety owned this land for several years until his death. The land was sold on a death certification to his wife Yvonne W Streety on the date of 2/9/2014. Yvonne W Streety sold this land to Jollyville HQ LLC on a warranty deed in 2019.

As of May 2020, Jollyville HQ LLC has put up the property for an undisclosed price on a white billboard facing Jollyville Road. They are currently looking for buyers who are interested in purchasing this land. Jollyville HQ LLC has not advertised this land for sale very much though.

Today Jollyville HQ LLC owns the Jollyville Jewel Cave property while the City of Austin owns the easements.


Can Cave is located at the address of 11586 Jollyville Road, Austin, Texas, US 78759.