History

Have you met our Waterloo? The Capital of Texas and the city named in honor of Stephen F. Austin was specifically chosen in 1839 by the then Vice-President of Texas Mireabeau B. Lamar. This beautiful site was located on the banks of the Colorado River near the small village of Waterloo. Lamar chose this site not only for its central location, but also for its verdant, natural beauty.

Choosing a 640-acre site north of the Colorado River between two creeks later to be named Waller and Shoal Creeks, Surveyor Edwin Waller laid out the grid for the city. These original fourteen blocks were bisected by Congress Avenue, his vision for a grand avenue to extend north from the Colorado River to the site of the future State Capitol.

You could say Austin's love of parks and green spaces began with Waller because as part of his original plan for the City he also included four squares to be used as city parks. Three of the original four squares still remain as parks today. The first city lots were sold on August 1, 1839 beneath the large oak tree now known of as "Auction Oak" located in historic Republic Square. Austin became incorporated as a city in December and the rest, as they say, is "History."