Austinites

Two of the oldest Paleolithic archeological sites in Texas, the Levi Rock Shelter and Smith Rock Shelter, are located southwest and southeast of present-day Austin. For several hundred years before the arrival of European settlers, the area was inhabited by a variety of nomadic Native American tribes. These indigenous peoples fished and hunted along the creeks, including present-day Barton Springs, which proved to be a reliable campsite. At the time of the first permanent settlement of the area, the Tonkawa tribe was the most common, with the Comanches and Lipan Apaches also frequenting the area.

The first documented permanent settlement of current-day Austin occurred in 1835. Anglo American settlers began arriving in the area, when Texas was still part of Mexico. They founded the village of Waterloo in 1837, along the banks of the Colorado River.  According to local folklore, Stephen F. Austin, the "father of Texas," negotiated a boundary treaty with the local Native Americans at the site of the present-day Treaty Oak after a few settlers were killed in raids. 

In 1838, Mirabeau B. Lamar and a group of Texas Rangers visited one of Lamar’s friends living along Shoal Creek near the present-day Austin Music Hall. The next morning Lamar shot a wild buffalo near the present intersection of 8th Street and Congress Avenue. The visit left an impression on Lamar, who reportedly said "This shall be the seat of future government."

Before the arrival of settlers from the United States, the area that later became Austin was inhabited by a variety of nomadic Native American tribes, including the Tonkawa tribe, the Comanches, and the Lipan Apaches.

Edward Burleson laid out the town of Waterloo in the mid-1830’s. In 1838 Mirabeau Lamar, vice-president of the Republic of Texas, visited Waterloo, where he stayed with one of the earliest settlers, Jacob Harrell. Lamar was elected president shortly thereafter. When the Texas Congress formed a commission to seek a site for a new capital to be named Austin, Lamar advised the commissioners to investigate Waterloo, which was then indeed chosen. In May 1839 Lamar’s designated government agent Edwin Waller organized and led a workforce of about 200 men from Houston to Waterloo to construct the new city.

At first, the new capital thrived. By the early 1840’s the population stood at about 850 people. But when Lamar’s political enemy Sam Houston regained the presidency in 1841, he used two Mexican army incursions to San Antonio as an excuse to move the government to Washington (now known as Washington-on-the-Brazos). Within months Austin’s population had shrunk to about 200, and many Texans assumed that the city would die. Remaining Austin residents responded to the threat by forcibly keeping the national archives in their city in defiance of President Houston’s attempts to bring them to Washington.

Anson Jones became president in 1844. The following year he called a convention in Austin to discuss annexation to the United States as well as to consider a new constitution. Once annexation became official, delegates wrote a new state constitution in which Austin was again named the seat of government.

The Texas State Capitol was completed in 1888 advertised as the 7th largest building in the world. Funded by the famous XIT Ranch, the building still remains part of the Austin skyline. The state capitol is slightly smaller than the United States capitol.

In September of 1881, Austin public schools held their first classes. The same year, Huston-Tillotson College opened its doors. The University of Texas at Austin held its first classes in 1883.

In the 1950s, Austin’s first research labs and think tanks were built. As Austin’s economy prospered, several movie theaters, public pools, and a local library system were opened.

The Austin music scene was born in the 1970s when artists such as Willie Nelson and venues such as the Armadillo World Headquarters brought national attention.

Today, Austin is known as much for its cultural life as its high-tech innovations. It is also known for the senators and schoolteachers who shaped its beginnings. The same success that has gained the city a national reputation has brought with it many difficult choices.