austinbar.org FEBRUARY 2018 | VOLUME 27, NUMBER 1
The Austin Bar Celebrates 125th Anniversary in 2018 A Look Back at Our Early Years Beginning in 1893
T
he city of Austin celebrated its 178th birthday in 2017, on the anniversary of its incorporation on December 27, 1839. In 1890, just a short 51 years after the city was formed, the Austin Bar Association was organized as a new century dawned. Begun with approximately 65 members, its official birthday is recognized in 1893 when its first president, John Dowell, was sworn in. In 2018, the Austin Bar Association officially celebrates its 125th anniversary. Throughout this anniversary year, we will take the opportunity to look back at some of the important
events and people in its 125year history. In 2005, the Austin Bar, under the leadership of Randy Howry, published a book about the history of the Austin Bar called “Austin Lawyers – A Legacy of Leadership and Service,” by Julia A. Woods, Ashley Craddock, and Regan Marie Brown. This book will serve as a resource for some of the anecdotes and stories highlighted in this publication throughout the year. A celebration of the Austin Bar’s 125th anniversary is being planned and will likely happen in the spring. More details about this event will be available soon.
SHOOTOUT AT THE DRISKILL HOTEL:
THE JOHN DOWELL INCIDENT The elegant Driskill Hotel at the corner of East Pecan (now 6th) and Brazos Street has been a popular gathering place for lawyers, judges, and politicians from the time it opened its doors in 1886 into the 21st century. But on April 16, 1908, the Driskill lobby was the site of a pitched gun battle between two prominent lawyers. The Austin Bar Association’s first president, John Dowell, and San Antonio attorney Mason Williams had been engaged in a legal dispute for months over a small ranch in Williamson County. Tempers escalated until the day before the shooting, when Dowell sought to have Williams disbarred from the practice of law. The trial had been postponed until 2 p.m. on April 16. That afternoon, Dowell entered the Driskill
125
DRISKILL HOTEL
years
PHOTO: Exterior of Driskill Hotel, 1888, PICA 05049, Austin History Center, Austin Public Library. BOOK: Cover of “Austin Lawyers – A Legacy of Leadership and Service” by Julia A. Woods, Ashley Craddock, and Regan Marie Brown. Photo of the Texas State Capitol by J. Griffis Smith, courtesy of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Hotel lobby carrying a double-barreled shotgun and revolver. The lobby was filled with patrons on their way out from lunch, including Williams. Dowell shot Williams as he entered the lobby from the bar. Fortunately, Williams dodged behind a column and the rest of the room cleared out. After Williams drew his pistol, he and Dowell traded shots back and forth until bystanders disarmed both men. According to the account in the Austin Statesman, “Judge Charles Ogden, one of the most prominent lawyers of the state and attorney for the Hetty Green estate, was in the hotel at the time and had been with Mason Williams but a few minutes before the shooting. Mr. Ogden and E.P. Wilmot, president of the Austin National Bank, were talking together when the first shot was fired. Both men rushed in and helped to disarm John Dowell and stop the fight.” Neither combatant was seriously wounded. Dowell was eventually ousted from his seat as Austin Bar president and found to be “of unsound mind” after the shoot-out. However, he was not ordered to be restrained and was released from custody. He died in 1917. Excerpt “Austin Lawyers – A Legacy of Leadership and SerAUSTINfrom LAWYER AL79. AL vice,” page