About this tour
Dripping Springs calls itself the Gateway to the Hill Country, and the name is more than a slogan — it marks the last easy crossroads before the land west of here breaks up into limestone hills and spring-fed canyons. Three families settled the springs in 1853 and 1854, and one of them, Dr. Joseph Pound, built a farmstead that still stands as a museum today. From the founding doctor's homestead to the pioneer academy, the early churches, and the restored storefronts of Mercer Street, this short drive walks you through the bones of a genuine 1850s Hill Country settlement — the one that opened the door west.