The Gray House in Nameless, Texas (Photo by Aaron Sullivan)
Development often erases a location’s history, but in a small historic community northwest of Austin, it allowed local historians to unearth a discovery and put together a puzzle once missing all its pieces.
Last year Paula Fiedler, a then-resident of the Travisso subdivision, stumbled upon a historic home built in 1873. While driving around the neighborhood, she spotted what looked like a broken-down tin barn, but what was actually one of the first structures built in a pioneer community near Leander. It sits along Nameless Road off of FM 1431 on land set for the expansion of the 2,100-acre Travisso subdivision.
The home was built by Hubbard and Eliza Gray, some of the earliest settlers of Nameless, Texas, according to Genny Kercheville, who wrote the book on Nameless. Its discovery started a domino effect that led to a hidden figure in Nameless’ history and the structure’s relocation and eventual renovation.
“The bulldozers had cleared away more big parts of the forest in preparation to build more houses, and they had left the Gray House in the middle,” Fiedler said. “And I see this old house, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, what the heck is that?’”
Fiedler contacted friends at the Travis County Historical Commission, who started researching the structure. Eventually, with the help of Kercheville and Mary Cameron of the Friends of Nameless School, Fiedler asked Travisso to move the structure across Nameless Road to the site of the historic Nameless School.
Travisso paid $15,000 to move the house last October, and the Friends of Nameless School now plan to renovate the Gray House to its original 1873 condition by April 2025. The organization is currently raising money to fund the renovation, without a set goal or budget.
“When you encounter historical homes like this, it’s oftentimes difficult to preserve them,” said Brad Garner, Travisso’s development manager. “Even if you allocate space for them, there’s no group to maintain them or that wants to keep them. … This was a fortunate situation – the proximity to the Nameless School and the volunteer group already there.”
Kercheville said the Grays moved to Central Texas from San Saba, Texas, and purchased 120 acres in Nameless after a short stint in Georgetown. In 1877, Hubbard Gray, who taught in San Saba, donated an acre and a half to build the Fairview School, the community’s first school that stood until 1909. Eliza died in 1882, eight years after the couple moved to Nameless, and Hubbard passed away four years later.
Cameron said Nameless community members discovered Eliza Gray’s grave surrounded by a wrought-iron fence near the original site of the home. The Friends of Nameless School believe that Hubbard is buried in an unmarked grave beside her. The gravesite, which the Texas Historical Commission designated a Historic Texas Cemetery, remains on Travisso’s property.
“We’re designing around it,” Garner said. “The existing historic grave will be contained in an open space that’s going to be left natural. We’re not going to disturb it.”
The Friends of Nameless School host regular events at the schoolhouse property, where Travisso relocated the Gray House. Kercheville said the organization will use future “historic day” events to fundraise for the Gray House’s renovation.
Cameron said the Friends of Nameless School will complete work as they have the funds to finish certain projects. She added that the organization requested grant money from the Lower Colorado River Authority to reconstruct the house’s original stone chimney. To minimize costs, Cameron said the organization will seek volunteer help from the community, like it did for the restoration of the existent 1909 Nameless School. The organization accepts donations through its Facebook page or through the mail.
Despite Austin’s growth encroaching on the once-rural Nameless community, Kercheville and Cameron said they think the Gray House’s recent discovery will only increase interest in the community’s history.
“People are more interested,” Kercheville said. “They ask, ‘What is the story of this school?’ I have always loved history, but I think everybody likes to hear what’s happened before them.”
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