More from the Austin Chronicle of July 4, 2003: “Homes were built over the location in the mid-20th century in the area called Fortview, and Fort McGruder [sic] Lane runs nearby. An undated brochure attested to historical markers at the site. Today, even they have long since vanished.
“Interestingly, the mid-1990s are when most of the fort’s history was written. Archeologists began research on the area in the spring of 1992 near Wadford and Dunlap streets. Homes covered the area, and the frontage road of Ben White was soon to cover the east-west trench. The team of researchers found where the [L-shaped] trenches were and how they were filled. The north-south trench was 260 feet long and met the 470-foot east-west trench. But no Civil War-era artifacts were unearthed. Not a cannon, not a rifle, not so much as a minié ball.”
By then, of course, the place had been picked over for generations. So how did Bar get her presumed Fort Magruder cannonball? From her mother, who lived in the area and collected odd things, like 1870 French bayonets, and 8-pounder cannonballs. My knowledge of the fort comes from maps and mentions at the Austin History Center.
