IMPACT NEWS (Pflugerville, Texas) 18 July 08 The Henry family's unusual hobby (Betty Henry and Sharon Wolf)
The citizens of Cedar Park and the surrounding area can be thankful that the Henry family has greatly reduced the number of rattlesnakes here due to an unusual hobby: snake hunting.
Artie Henry was the foreman for Will Wilson and his family on land covering about 1,800 acres. He also hunted and leased some tracts on about 500 acres of land closer to US 183 owned by the Loeschman family, the Pegge family and others. His brother J.O. Henry was the foreman for C.N. Avery and his family on land covering about 2,200 acres. The boundary dividing the Avery Ranch from the others is Brushy Creek.
The snake hunting began in 1950 and continued until the mid-1970s. As soon as spring arrived each year, the men made a habit to visit all of the dens previously located — usually holes in the ground or rock crevices. The snakes would emerge and lie in the sunshine along the edge of the dens. Using catchers, the men would quickly grab as many as they could. This disturbance caused the remaining snakes to slither back into their hiding places. At this point, gasoline was pumped into the den. After a few minutes, the groggy snakes would venture out to be caught and placed in burlap bags or in pickup toolboxes.
In 1956, the Henrys kept the reptiles in a pen to see how many they could catch. This wasn’t a store-bought round pen — there was no top and the bottom was dirt. After three months, the total was 476, and they were either killed or sold. At one time, Williamson County offered a 25 cent bounty for each rattlesnake rattle.
The acres where the Henrys hunted were located roughly between US 183, Parmer Lane, RM 1431 and just short of RM 620. The whole area was very rocky, hilly and covered in cedar trees, creating an excellent habitat for rattlesnakes in the many crevices, holes, gullies and caves.
Originally, the land was totally vacant with the exception of a small plot of ground close to US 183 that was the original site of Cedar Park. No buildings or humans disturbed the snakes. Development began with two subdivisions, the Cedar Park Ranchettes in the late 1960s and Park Place in the early 1970s. They are adjacent to US 183 along the western boundary of the snake territory. Along the eastern boundary, Walter Yates developed a subdivision with large lots and an airstrip in 1976 beside what would eventually be Parmer Lane. Next to it was Whipporwill Acres. The land between these subdivisions was unpopulated until the late 1990s, when Forest Oaks, Silver Oak, Silverado, Avery Ranch and Davis Spring subdivisions began development.
Of Snakes and men
Will Wilson Sr. served as an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court from 1950-1956 and was elected state attorney general for 1957-1963. He served in the Nixon administration as assistant attorney general of the United States from 1969-1971 under attorney general John Mitchell.
Artie Henry died Oct. 22, 1999. He was one of the founders of the Volunteer Fire Department and was also active in installing and maintaining the first water supply to Cedar Park. Artie Henry Middle School was opened in 2002 on Vista Ridge Drive off of Brushy Creek Road. During the early days of construction, several small rattlesnakes were found, but there are no known rattlesnakes left in the area.
Rattlesnakes can be identified by the joint rattles on the end of the tail. Each rattle is the remnant of a shed skin, and a snake can add two or three rattles a year with each molt, though some rattles may break off. All rattlesnake bites are dangerous, no matter how many rattles on the snake.
The Henry family's unusual hobby

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