Austin Moon Light Towers

Have you ever driven by one of these fifteen remaining moon light towers around town? Did you ever wonder when they were installed and why they were installed in the first place?

Well, there is more than one report of when they were installed, but the general time frame is the late 1800's. Austin was a much smaller place in those days. Less than 20,000 people. Not much bigger than the population of Steiner Ranch today. Wikipedia reports that lights like these lights were installed in a number of major US cities at that time1. As cities grew, the need for greater security and law enforcement was becoming evident and lights seemed to some to be a good start.

Some say that these lights were installed in Austin to help capture or stop one of the first known serial killers in the US--here in Austin between 1884 -1885. Others have tied the light installations to bigger challenges of the "Boy's Town" area in Austin and a growing downtown area. But stories have it that soon after these lights were installed the murders of 1884-85 era, reportedly stopped. Three years later, similar serial murders began in London, England. That murderer later became known as infamous "Jack the Ripper".  We may never know if the two were linked.

The complete truth behind these stories may be hidden or distorted, but we still have these glorious Moon Light Towers. A reminder of a time when Austin was much smaller--but not a gentler place to live.


1 - Wikipedia Ref