The Hill Country Arts Foundation (HCAF) is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) educational institution founded in 1958. HCAF sits on a 15-acre site at the confluence of the Guadalupe River and Johnson Creek in Kerr County in Ingram, Texas. This lovely site was called "The Point" prior to 1958 and still is.

The campus houses both Visual and Performing Arts Centers. The Visual Arts Center was named for Edith McAshan, who is credited with beginning the HCAF. In 1958, she and fellow Houstonians were distraught when they learned an offer had been accepted to sell "The Point". They pleaded with the realtor, Herman Sublett, and persuaded him to reject the offer and lease the first 11.5 acres of the property for use as an arts center in return for their improvements. The property was purchased the next year.

On site in 1958 was an abandoned roller-skating rink (built in 1942), a restaurant that had been called the "Chic-Inn" among other names, and a chimney from a burned house. Volunteers collected donations, renovated buildings, cleared brush and built a small theatre stage on the riverbank. The roller rink was transformed into a pavilion for art exhibitions, indoor theatre and community activities. The restaurant served a variety of uses from a food service facility to a costume shop.

In the summer of 1959, the newly chartered HCAF presented its first programs. Arts classes began in June and the first theatre production on the outdoor stage followed. Don E. Bolen of Houston served as the General Director and Mrs. W. H. McKelvy of Houston served as President of the Board. The first board was comprised of Mrs. George Broun and Jasper Moore of Ingram and Alwyn Koehler and Charles S. Clark of Houston. A separate advisory board included 12 other volunteers from Houston, San Antonio, Cuero, Ingram and Dallas. McKelvy, Koehler and Clark signed the original charter that formed the foundation.

From its modest beginning, the HCAF has become a unique cultural achievement. The facilities now include the impressive 711 seat outdoor amphitheatre (built in 1982-83), an indoor theatre, a beautiful 1,900 square foot art gallery overlooking Johnson Creek, four art studios, a ceramics studio, the administration offices, costume shop, scene shop, Auxiliary Gift Shop and the Country Kitchen.

The Duncan-McAshan Visual Arts Center and Gallery is named for the founder, Edith McAshan, and Jeaneane Duncan of Houston. Duncan was a primary donor to the renovation of the art studios and gallery construction in 1982. The Alice Naylor Art Library is named after Naylor, an artist and volunteer who was a member of the advisory board from 1959 to 1963.

The gallery and theatre projects were a capital improvements campaign led by Kit Werlein of Kerrville in 1982. The theatre was named the Smith-Ritch Point Theatre for three members of the Ritch family who were primary donors and leaders in the campaign--Vermeille Smith, her daughter Nancy Smith Ritch and her grandson Andrew Ritch of Kerrville. The funds donated during the capital campaign also established the HCAF Permanent Endowment Fund to ensure the continuation and growth of the institution.

In 1989, at the 30th anniversary celebration of the HCAF, a Memorial Arbor was dedication on the point where Johnson Creek joins the Guadalupe River, and named in honor of Barbara Shoemaker and Sue Hovey, two artists who were major donors to the Visual Arts Department.