Centuries-Old Artifacts Discovered Beneath a Lake in Texas

The artifacts are from the 19th century. As the lake they were found under was man-made, a whole civilization lived under the lake for more than a century. 

Droughts are another part of climate change that areas around the world are trying to deal with, and unless these droughts come to an end soon, it could see some of the world’s most famous lakes dry up entirely. 

For example, what is known as the Titanic of the Alps was found 90 years after it sunk in the Antarctic and was found to be pretty much in the same condition as it was when it first sank. 

The lake was constructed in the area in 1958 to help with flood control and water conservation. Just one decade later, where an ancient civilization had once stood, was an area completely filled with water. 

So much so that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reported that the lake is 18 feet lower than normal, and is also the lowest it has ever been since it was first constructed.

The two towns below the water’s surface were known as Hancock and Crane’s Mill. Some artifacts that could be seen were caves, a house and the remnants of Hancock Bridge. 

The once civilized areas that were home to many people for around a century are now underwater, and people come to the site now to marvel at the historic wonder in front of them. 

Anderson-Linderman claims much of Hill Country’s history is forgotten. However, the evidence is apparent: “They’re under the lake, Canyon Lake,” she said. 

“James B. Crain and John Lackey came to this area and both of them brought the skills of running a mill, shingles mill, gristmill,” she said. 

The settlement continued to grow according to Coers, who said, “They eventually put in a bowling alley, they had a merchandise store, they had dances.”

 “My great-grandfather and my great-grandmother lived where the lake is now,” said Coers.

“It’s true, there was nothing like New Braunfels, or Blanco, or Boerne below there,” said Coers. However, other people have varying theories as to what could lie beneath the lake. 

It also enabled them to either confirm or deny rumors regarding what was below the lake, such as confirming that the various caves, including the “party cove,” are actually under the water.

This is because local authorities have only recently become aware of the caves’ dangers. While people can stand and look at them from a distance, they cannot get too close to them. 

“Been here five years… but this is the first time we’ve seen the lake so low,” says Diana Schmidt, a local resident. 

“When we first moved out here, we had a boat, and then when we started seeing all the rocks and how low the lake was going, we sold our boat,” says Schmidt.

“It really hasn’t affected us at all,” says General Manager of Lucky’s At the Lake, Fritzy Crow. She claims her success comes as a result of the surrounding area.

She added, “We’ve gotten a lot busier with a lot of people moving in from out of state, you know, just moving to this area.”

While the lowering of water levels in lakes can result in the discovery of archaeological items of interest, unfortunately the drought can have adverse effects for the surrounding region. Nonetheless, places like Lake Canyon continue to lose their water at unprecedented rates. 

However, another commenter has a completely different viewpoint. They said that Texas has over 800 golf courses that use gallons of water yearly. As there is a global water shortage, this person said everything possible needs to be done to conserve our water. 

Not only is rubbish that had been dumped in the lake clearly visible, but hazardous objects such as tree stumps and large rocks are also visible, which could pose a danger to boaters and swimmers. For now, we can only stand on the shore and speculate about what other treasures lie beneath the water.

The rocks had been placed in a circular formation, similar to Stonehenge. The archaeologists who discovered them used photogrammetry technology to examine them in more detail and concluded that humans had definitely placed them there. 

“It would’ve been a wonderful place for people to live – near the coastline, close to resources, transportation’s easy,” said Holley. 

Many of the sites could give us a better understanding of America’s ancient past and how things were before the founding of the US.