Brief History of Austin, Texas
The capital city of Texas, Austin was originally known as Waterloo. It was a small community located where the Colorado River met Shoal Creek in a buffalo-hunting region occupied by the nomadic Tonkawa, Lipan Apache, and Comanches tribes. In the late 16th century, the region saw an influx of Spaniards, who set up temporary missions. In the 1830s, permanent settlers arrived and formed a village they called Waterloo.
In 1836, Texas settlers gained freedom from Mexican governance and formed the Republic of Texas. In 1839, scouts selected Waterloo as the ideal location for the permanent capital of the republic and purchased 7,735 acres along the river. Waterloo was renamed in honor of Stephen F. Austin, founder of the republic. In August of that year, the first city lots were sold at auction. In October, the government moved from Houston to Austin in oxcarts.
The city was officially incorporated on December 27 and provided home to 856 residents the following year. Judge Edwin Waller drafted a town plan that included a hilltop site for a new capitol building, as well as a 14-block grid of streets, many of which still exist today. The government build temporary wooden administration buildings and a wooden capitol, and in 1840, Waller became the city’s first mayor.
In 1842, threat of a Mexican invasion scared the government back to Houston, but Austin citizens retained government records by force in a maneuver now known as the Archive War. During this time, Austin’s population dropped to below 200. By 1845, the government had returned to Austin, but because Texas was now part of the United States, it took two statewide elections to ensure that Austin remained the capital.
During the 1880s, Austin saw much growth. In 1881, the Austin City Public Schools welcomed their first students and the Tillotson Collegiate and Normal Institute also opened its doors. In 1888, construction of the pink granite capitol was completed on the site original selected by Waller. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad and construction of a bridge over the Colorado River made the region more accessible and the city become a popular trading post for farmers and ranchers. The 1893 opening of the Great Granite Dam also provided hydraulic power and generated electricity, which attracted the manufacturing industry.
In the 1900s, Austin turned into a technology center. As early as the 1950s, the city began attracting research labs and think thanks, as well as innovative, high-tech businesses such as Tracor, Radian, MCC, AMD and later Dell Computer, to name a few. Today, the city’s employers represent the computer, telecommunications, software, and biotechnology sectors, including IBM Motorola and Texas Instruments. Additionally, the city is now home to many more institutions of higher learning, including the University of Texas, St. Edward’s University, Austin Community College, and Concordia University at Austin.
Austin boasts an ethnically diverse population and has seen influxes of immigrants from Europe, Africa, Mexico, and Asia throughout its history. More than one third of its population is Hispanic and less than half the population is of European descent. The diverse city has seen an expansion of cultural life and is now known as a musical hub thanks to the revitalization of numerous music venues.
