Untold Austin Stories: Mary Moore Searight Park

Mary Moore Searight began and ended life in Paris, Texas.

She spent half of that life, however, in Austin. In 1939, the young woman of privilege and style moved from East Texas to the capital when her father was appointed chief justice of the State Supreme Court.

Here she met and married Dan Searight, president of the Walter Tips Hardware Company.

While living in the city, they purchased ranch land from the pioneering Slaughter family, eventually calling it Indian Grass Farm. They ran black Angus cattle along Big and Little Slaughter creeks. For 30 years after her husband’s death, Mary Moore Searight oversaw the ranch alone.

In the 1980s, as development threatened open spaces in the area, Searight met with City of Austin land agent Junie Plummer, who was given a slow tour of the varied terrain and native flora and fauna.

Plummer could only muster $1.5 million from the parks budget to purchase 88 acres of land. “Don’t you want it all?” Searight asked. “Of course,” Plummer responded, “but we can’t afford it.”

After making sure that the remaining 206 acres would be protected by law as parkland, Searight made a gift of it. (More land was added later.)

In 1996, Searight’s life ended abruptly when she was murdered by an intruder in her original hometown. Her adopted city, however, continues to enjoy those 334 acres of urban wildlife.

MARY MOORE SEARIGHT PARK

Located: 907 Slaughter Lane

Dedicated: 1988

Acres: 344

Named for: Mary Moore Searight

Photo: Adrienne DeVorkin (1990)