There's something about swimming outside, in a nature-made watering hole that just makes for summer satisfaction and all around happiness. When that watering hole is sixty-eight degrees year round and three acres big, there is no such thing as disappointment. Such is the case with Barton Springs Pool, a pool fed from underground springs that sees thousands of tourists and Austin citizens each year, including, in his youth, Robert Redford who learned to swim in Barton Springs.



Barton Springs was created millions of years ago by the land shift that created Balcones Fault. It is located in Zilker Park, a 358-acre park donated to the city of Austin by Andrew Jackson Zilker, the first Coca-Cola Bottler in Austin and a man who after coming to Austin with no more than 50 cents in his pocket was able to buy up more than enough land for a supreme park. But before Zilker owned the land, it was a place the Native Americans considered sacred. They called Barton Springs - the three that make up the one - the Sacred Springs and relied on the water in them to heal wounds. Spanish missionaries set up temporary missions along the springs and Billy Barton erected his cabin on the tract of land surrounding them, naming the three springs after his daughters.

As owner of the land, Zilker slowly sold it all to the Public Free Schools of Austin. He did so having made the deal that the city of Austin would buy it all from the schools at higher than cost prices. As the city did, the area became a popular swimming area, as well as a place for baptisms, picnics, live performances and fishing.

Over the years, Barton Springs has been the location of many historical events, including Robert Redford's first 5-year-old stab at swimming. In 1943, for example, the first female Barton Springs lifeguard, Jean Parker, stood guard over the swimmers after the Texas Pool and Beach Association decided to allow female guards. More noteworthy than historical, the director of the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Beverly Sheffield, set the record for longest regular Barton Springs swimmer by swimming there three days a week every week from his tenth birthday until his death, in his mid-eighties.

Today, the land is protected under federal law, since a petition to do so was filed by zoologist Mark Kirkpatrick and his wife Barbara Mahler in 1992. In 1998, the US Fish and Wildlife Services named Barton Springs a protected area, as it is home to the Barton Springs salamander, an endangered species.

More so, however, it is home to the people of Austin. They flock there to swim and to celebrate. It is one of the best places around for a lazy afternoon in the water or lively swim through the springs. It is where you want to be when the heat is too much, and thanks to the constant average temperature of 68 degrees, it is where you can be when snow is surrounding the chillier parts of the country and moderate temperatures have settled over Texas. It is Barton Springs - the natural place to swim.