Elizabeth H. Clare

People love to rediscover their own history, and it's my pleasure to bring to you one of Austin's great untold stories--the collapse of the Great Austin Dam on April 7, 1900. My interest in this story began years ago when I learned that Red Bed Isle--now a beloved dog park--was comprised of the wreckage of the long-ago dam across the mighty Colorado. What I learned was not only illuminating about Austin's civic culture, but it raised the questions embedded in any monumental disaster. Why did this happen? Would I have made the same choices? Would I have faced reality sooner than they did? Would I have had the grit to come back from a tragedy I played a part in creating?

I’m a dyed-in-the-wool Austinite, having called this place home since I was two. I graduated with a degree in government and history from the University of Texas. For many years I worked at the Texas State Library and Archives preparing historical exhibits. And, under the pen name Frances Hunter, I’m the co-author of two historical novels about Lewis & Clark. I’m proud to say that both were well-reviewed, and To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark scored a “highly recommended” rating from Library Journal, won the Writers’ League of Texas Violet Crown Award and the Independent Publisher “IPPY” Book Award silver medal, and was a finalist for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.

By trade, I’m a veteran business and technical writer, specializing these days in long-form content such as white papers, trade articles, business books, detailed case studies, and corporate histories.