A Brief History of Austin

Native tribes, such as the Apache, Comanches, and Tonkawa first roamed and sometimes took camp in the bend in the Colorado River now known as Austin. The first Europeans arrived in the area in the 1830s and created the town of Waterloo. As legend has it, the tribes and the Europeans conflicted several times until Stephen F. Austin facilitated a treaty. The tree under which he supposedly signed still stands as "Treaty Oak."

Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836. The president of the new Republic of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, visited the small town on the Colorado River called, at the time, Waterloo. He was invited there on a buffalo hunt and left with the determination to make the town, which he found delightful, the new capital of Texas. If you look around Austin today you will see numerous references to Waterloo that might not be apparent to visitors or new Austinities. For instance there is a record store called Waterloo records and a popular drafthouse called Waterloo Icehouse.

In 1839, Lamar successfully moved the capital to Waterloo, against the wishes of former president, Sam Houston. The members of the government of Texas arrived in oxcarts and renamed the city Austin, after "the father of Texas," Stephen F. Austin.

Edwin Waller, the first mayor of Austin, planned the city. He laid out the streets, which today, still make up the downtown, from First to 15th Streets. Initially, the city prospered, but when Houston again became president in 1841 he tried to move the government out. As his reason, he cited two Mexican invasions of San Antonio. He always believed Austin was too close to the border.

As a result of Houston's attempts to move, the population of Austin dwindled to a few hundred. The remaining citizens fought hard to keep the capital. They physically refused to give up the national archives and as a result won the battle to keep Austin.

Despite Lamar's efforts, Austin struggled to remain the permanent capital of Texas. A vote finally made it the official capital city in 1872, beating out Houston and Waco.

With the construction of the Houston-Texas Central Railway, Austin grew into a large, diverse, and important city. In 1888, construction of the state capitol building was completed. It was, at the time, the seventh largest building in the world. Today, it rises higher than the U.S. capitol in Washington D.C.

1881 was a stellar year for Texas education. In this year Austin became the site of the new University of Texas and the Texas public school system opened its doors. Former Texas president Lamar had worked hard to achieve these aims and today is known as "the father of Texas education."

Austin continued to grow in population and economy. From its small beginnings, the city has grown into the 16th largest in the U.S. Austin is home to large corporations, a major university, the state government, famous live music venues, and many happy citizens.

Ki Gray works in the Austin Real Estate market helping buyers and sellers. His site provides a free Austin MLS Search, and his Austin Real Estate Blog provides an inside look to the market.