| Austin History Center Digital Collections

Welcome to the Austin History Center’s Digital Collections

The Austin History Center’s mission is to procure, preserve, present and provide the historical records that make up Austin’s unique story.

As the local history division of the Austin Public Library, the Austin History Center provides the public with information about the history, current events, and activities of Austin and Travis County. We collect and preserve information about local governments, businesses, residents, institutions, and neighborhoods so that generations to come will have access to our history.

Use these Digital Collections to conduct directed research or just browse if you can’t make it down to our Reading Room. This website hosts only a selection of photographs from our collections. For information on doing in-person research at the Austin History Center or virtually viewing other materials, please visit our primary website.

This project is funded in part through Hotel Occupancy Tax Revenue for the Historic Preservation Fund, an initiative administered by the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

Featured photo from the Lisa Davis Photograph Collection, AR-2010-022-05-07-017

Browse by Collection

African Americans

Photos and videos documenting African Americans in Austin and Travis County from the Austin Files collection

Blanton, Annie Webb, 1870-1945

Photos of Annie Blanton from the Austin Files Biography collection

Camacho, Lorraine

Photos of Lorraine Camacho from the Austin Files Biography collection

Campbell, Earl Christian

Photos of Earl Campbell from the Austin Files Biography collection

Barrientos, Gonzalo

Photos of Gonzalo Barrientos from the Austin Files Biography collection

Carrington, Edward, -1917

Photographs documenting Eunice Lyons-Prescott's 90th Birthday Party from the Ausin Files Biography collection

Weddington, Sarah

Weddington_Sarah

Asian Americans

Media documenting Asian Americans living in the Austin metro area.

Garcia, Gus

Photo of Gus Garcia from the Austin Files Biography collection

Kincheon, Thomas Wesley

Photos of Thomas Kincheon and family in Kincheonville from the Austin Files Biography collection

Creeks

Media documenting creeks in Austin and surrounding areas

Long, Emma

Long_Emma

Lung, Joe

Photos of Joe Lung and family from the Austin Files Biography collection

Delco, Wilhelmina

Photographs documenting Wilhelmina Delco from the Austin Files Biography collection

Taniguchi, Isamu

Media documenting Isamu Taniguchi from the Austin Files Biography collection. Born in Osaka, Japan, Isamu Taniguchi immigrated to the United States in 1914 at the age of sixteen, only returning to Japan to marry Sadayo Miyagi and bring her back to the US. Initially unable to own land, due to the state law in California prohibiting him due to his ancestry, he created a life for his family near Stockton. He spent twenty-two years farming and established a local farming cooperative called the Brentwood Produce Association, a group that organized the shipping of various crops all over California and to the East Coast. This lasted until the executive order President Roosevelt issued that authorized the evacuation and relocation of all persons deemed a threat to national security after the US entered WWII. In March of 1942 Isamu was arrested and was accused of using the incinerator on his land to send smoke signals to the Japanese and of arranging muslin sheets (used to protect tomato plants from the spring frost) in arrow shapes that supposedly pointed to military installations. Though not officially charged with anything, he was deemed a dangerous enemy alien and he, his wife, and his younger son, Izumi, were sent to the Crystal City Incarceration Camp in South Texas - his older son, Alan, was away at university and was not arrested with the rest of the family. While in Crystal City, Isamu worked for the carpentry shop and in his spare time he planted and maintained gardens. When they were eventually released from Crystal City, Isamu and Sadayo hoped to begin their lives again in California. Unfortunately, there was still a great deal of hostility from local people who did not want anyone associated with “the enemy” living nearby, and this included Isamu and his family. So they instead decided to go to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Many of the Japanese farmers they had met while imprisoned had settled in this area, and had invited the family to join them there. Finding it to be much more welcoming than their old home in California, Isamu and Sadayo established a large vegetable and cotton farm and remained there until they retired in 1967 when they moved to Austin to be near their son, Alan, a professor of architecture at the University of Texas. After moving, Isamu expressed a desire to build a Japanese garden dedicated to peace that would be open to visitors and the public, and he hoped Alan would help him find a location. Alan had made good connections with the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, and the director suggested three acres of land that were part of Zilker Park. Isamu worked almost entirely on his own, without a contract, salary, or written plan to transform this space with intricate pathways, a miniature waterfall, ponds, stone arrangements, and lush plant-life (one pond even has a lotus he raised from a seed from Japan).

The Austin History Center

The Austin History Center

Welcome to the Austin History Center’s Digital Collections

The Austin History Center’s mission is to procure, preserve, present and provide the historical records that make up Austin’s unique story.

Browse by Collection

Featured Content

African Americans

Blanton, Annie Webb, 1870-1945

Camacho, Lorraine

Campbell, Earl Christian

Barrientos, Gonzalo

Carrington, Edward, -1917

Weddington, Sarah

Asian Americans

Garcia, Gus

Kincheon, Thomas Wesley

Creeks

Long, Emma

Lung, Joe

Delco, Wilhelmina

Taniguchi, Isamu

Diseases

Rainey, Homer Price, -1896

Austin Pictures Illustrations

Jordan, Barbara Charline 1936-1996

Garcia, Alberto Gonzalo, 1889-1962

Waller, Edwin, 1800-1881

Webb, Walter Prescott, 1888-1963

Yarborough, Ralph Webster, 1903-1996

Aqua Festival

Nalle, Joseph, 1842-1911