Travis County

History

Prehistoric Texas

Early inhabitants of Central Texas date to between 12,000 to 22,000 years ago as evidenced by the discovery of sites like Leanderthal Lady ("Leanne") at the Wilson-Leonard site near Leander, Texas.

Another two of the oldest Paleo-Indian archeological sites in Texas, the Levi Rock Shelter and Smith Rock Shelter, are in southwest and southeast Travis County, respectively.

In downtown Austin, archeological excavations have revealed that the hilltop where the French Legation now sits was utilized during the Archaic period (North America), possibly 5,000 years ago. Even earlier artifacts dating to the Paleo-Indians period show that humans may have used the area as early as 9,000 years ago.

Continuous occupation of Travis County continues into the Toyah Phase represented by sites like the Toyah Bluff Site in southeast Travis County along Onion Creek. The Toyah Phase is the last widespread prehistoric pattern prior to the arrival of Europeans.

Spanish period

The region (along with all of modern Texas) was claimed by the Spanish Empire in the 1600s, but at the time no attempt was made to settle the area (or even to explore it fully).

In 1691 Domingo Terán de los Ríos was instructed to make a tour of Spanish Texas with the goal of establishing missions among the Tejas (Hasinai), keep records of "geography, natives, and products" and investigate rumors of foreign settlements on the coast (the French). Terán's entrada took them through Travis County crossing the Colorado River near what would later be called the Montopolis ford, which today is part of El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail.

In 1709 Captain Pedro de Aguirre led an expedition with Fathers Antonio de Olivares and Isidro de Espinosa (Espinosa-Olivares-Aguirre Expedition) from San Juan Bautista Mission along the Rio Grande River in Mexico into Travis County hoping to meet with the Tejas Indians (Hasinai). They reached the south bank the Colorado River in or near Austin in April, but found the Tejas were not there. They were however visited by members of a number of Indigenous Peoples: Yojuan (AKA Yojuane), Simomo, and Tusonibi. Guides for the Spanish included Indigenous Peoples they had encountered just previously living near San Pedro Springs: Chaularame, Payaya, Sana, Sijame, and Siupan. With orders not to cross the Colorado the expedition returned to Mexico.

In 1730 Franciscan friars, who were given responsibility for all the Texas missions, made the decision to relocate three missions, La Purísima Concepción, San Francisco de los Neches, and San José de los Nazonis, to a site by the Colorado River near Barton Springs. The friars found conditions undesirable and relocated to the San Antonio River within a year of their arrival.

El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail runs through Travis County crossing the Colorado River just east of the Montopolis Bridge.

Mexican period

In 1821 Mexico won its independence from Spain, and the new government enacted laws encouraging colonists to settle the Texas frontier by granting them land and reduced taxation. Over the next decade, thousands of foreign immigrants (primarily from the United States) moved into Texas; in particular, American empresario Stephen F. Austin established one of his colonies, known as Austin's "Little Colony", consisting of 100 families near what is now Bastrop, Texas in 1827. Josiah and Mathias Wilbarger, Reuben Hornsby (namesake of Hornsby Bend, Travis County, Texas), Jacob M. Harrell, Noah Smithwick, and John F. Webber (namesake of Webberville, Travis County, Texas) were early settlers who moved to the Bastrop area in the early 1830s. Webber and Reubon Hornsby would later move west and form the settlements of Webberville and Hornsby Bend respectively.

Republic of Texas period

In 1836 Texas declared and won its independence from Mexico, forming the Republic of Texas. That same year, 1836, before Austin was founded, Fort Colorado, AKA Fort Coleman, was established in then Bastrop County, later to be Travis County, to secure and expand the Republic of Texas’ control over Native American territory. It was strategically located on the main road to what would later be Austin from Bastrop, Texas, Webberville, Texas and Hornsby Bend, Texas, what Barkley called the "Path of the Pioneers", today's Webberville Road, also known as FM 969. It was this path Vice President Lamar would later take to Waterloo in 1838 for the buffalo hunt which eventually led to Austin as the capital of Texas. Lamar stopped at the fort to procure an escort of rangers. Fort Colorado was also strategically placed near a trade route utilized by Native Americans since prehistory that the Spanish would later adopt, El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail. The site of Fort Colorado is located on today's Travis Audubon Blair Woods Preserve and is a part of the historic trail.

While there were skirmishes between Anglo-Texans and Native Americans, there were also attempts at peace. In 1837 a band of Penateka Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ) approached Fort Colorado to seek a treaty of peace. Texas Ranger and historian Noah Smithwick, stationed at the fort, lived with the Comanche as emissary for many months where he “was made the recipient of every attention known to their code of hospitality”. This is the only known peace treaty initiated from inside Travis County. The treaty was unfortunately never ratified by Texas.

Historically recorded tribes in Travis County at this time were Comanche, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa, Waco (a branch of the Wichita), and others. Tribes such as the ethnographically well-known Comanche, Lipan Apache, Waco (Wichita branch), and even the Tonkawa migrated into Texas, of which Travis County is a part, just before or during the early European contact period. The expansion of the Spanish into what is now Travis County, establishing missions, traveling El Camino Real de los Tejas, and introducing European diseases, along with the migration of other Native American tribes to the area, particularly the Lipan Apache who in turn were retreating from Comanche expansion, displaced tribes that were indigenous to the area since before European contact, like the Coahuiltecans.

After Texas Vice President Mirabeau B. Lamar visited central Texas during a buffalo-hunting expedition between 1837 and 1838, he proposed that the republic's capital (then located in Houston) be relocated to a site on the north bank of the Colorado River. Edward Burleson had surveyed the planned townsite of Waterloo, near the mouth of Shoal Creek on the Colorado River, in 1838; it was incorporated January 1839. By April of that year the site selection commission had selected Waterloo to be the new capital. A bill previously passed by Congress in May, 1838, specified that any site selected as the new capital would be named Austin, after the late Stephen F. Austin; hence Waterloo upon selection as the capital was renamed Austin.

Civil War and Reconstruction

In 1861 Travis County was one of the few Texas counties to vote against secession from the Union. Since the majority of the state did favor secession, Travis County then became a part of the Confederacy for the duration of the Civil War.

After secession, life became difficult for those in Travis County that continued to support the Union. Governor Sam Houston refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate States of America and was forced to step-down as Governor. Some, like prominent lawyer and businessman, Josiah Fisk, namesake of Fiskville and brother of Greenleaf Fisk, opted to leave Texas when threatened with conscription. Others like former Texas Ranger Richard Lincoln Preece mounted guerilla resistance against the Confederacy from inside Travis County, eventually being forced to leave Texas via Mexico to join the U.S. Army. Barkley describes hangings and attempted hangings in Travis County of persons remaining loyal to the Union.

During the Civil War a number of forts, or fortifications, were built in Austin anticipating Union attack (which never occurred). One of the better documented of these located on South Congress was Fort Magruder.

Among shortages experienced in Travis County during the Civil War was timely news from newspapers. Some newspapermen closed shop and enlisted when the war began. Other newspapers were forced to close due to lack of ink and paper available only through Mexico or the Gulf Coast which was blockaded by Union forces. In Travis County the "State Gazette" (Austin) kept a pony express rider at the Brenham, Texas railhead to bring in Houston papers with news only 18 hours old.

During the Civil War, the Tonkawa massacre of 1862 took place on a reservation in Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma). It was an attack by a number of pro-Union Native American tribes on the Tonkawa who supported the Confederacy; the massacre led to near extermination of the tribe. After the massacre, by the summer of 1863, some Tonkawa began drifting south into Texas, some returning to the Austin area, then a fortified Confederate city. At the end of the Civil War, Austin was surrendered to the United States and occupied by Union troops. By 1867 the United States ordered the removal of the Tonkawa from Austin. The Indian Papers document the escorted removal of 135 Tonkawa from Austin to Jacksboro, Texas, March 3, 1867 to April 18, 1867, for eventual resettlement on a reservation near Fort Griffin in Shackelford County, Texas that same year.

20th century

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) was established in 1879. In the early years of the USGS its survey work was hampered by lack of funds and as late as the 1920s nearly 60% of the US was still unmapped. Travis County was fortunate to be one of the first areas mapped producing what is known as the "1902 Austin folio" (surveyed 1895-1896, published 1902). Although referred to as the "Austin quadrangle" it covers all of Travis County. In addition to the map produced, the USGS produced written reports including the "culture" of Travis County at the turn of the 20th century.

Quoting the USGS: "The Austin quadrangle has a comparatively dense population, but nine-tenths of its inhabitants are found on the Coastal Plain, east of the Balcones scarp, the Edwards Plateau country to the west being but sparsely populated. The densest rural population is found in the White Rock and Taylor prairies and the Colorado bottoms, nearly the entire areas of which are devoted to the cultivation of cotton, with some minor crops. The few people inhabiting the Edwards Plateau are engaged in raising cattle and cutting cedar timber from the hills to supply the city of Austin with fuel. Occasionally farmers cultivate small areas of alluvial soil in the valleys of this district."

Towns cited: "Austin, the capital of the State, occupies both banks of the Colorado near the center of the quadrangle. It is a city of 30,000 inhabitants and contains many handsome public buildings, including the capitol and university. Manor, about 12 miles northeast of Austin, is a prosperous rural village of about 5000 inhabitants. McNeil, Manchaca, and Buda are small towns along the line of the International and Great Northern Railroad. The other towns on the map, such as Oak Hill, Watters, Pflugerville, Sprinkle, Bluff Springs, New Sweden, and Fiskville, are small villages with one or more stores and a few houses."

Railroads: International and Great Northern Railroad; Houston and Texas Central Railway; Austin and Northwestern Railroad branch of the Houston and Texas Central Railway.

Roads of the time are categorized as "county roads of the first order, which lead from Austin to the neighboring county seats; lanes leading from the main highways to small communities or farms; and country roads, originally made by wood cutters, which meander through the region of the Edwards Plateau ... Three substantial bridges span the Colorado, the westernmost of which is devoted solely to railway traffic, and the others, at Austin and Montopolis, Austin, Texas, to vehicles."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,023 square miles (2,650 km2), of which 990 square miles (2,600 km2) is land and 33 square miles (85 km2) (3.2% of the territory) is water. Travis County is located in the southern part of central Texas, between San Antonio and Dallas–Fort Worth. The county's geographical center lies two miles northwest of downtown Austin at 30°18' north latitude and 97°45' west longitude.

Travis County straddles the Balcones Fault, the boundary between the Edwards Plateau to the west and the Texas Coastal Plain to the east. The western part of the county is characterized by the karst topography of the Texas Hill Country, while the eastern part exhibits the fertile plains and farmlands of the Blackland Prairie. The Colorado River meanders through the county from west to east, forming a series of man-made lakes (Lake Travis, Lake Austin, and Lady Bird Lake).

Springs

The limestone karst geology of the western and southwestern parts of Travis County gives rise to numerous caverns and springs, some of which have provided shelter and water for humans in the region for thousands of years. Notable springs in the county include Barton Springs, Deep Eddy and Hamilton Pool.

Adjacent counties

Williamson County (north)

Bastrop County (southeast)

Caldwell County (south)

Hays County (southwest)

Blanco County (west)

Burnet County (northwest)

Protected areas

Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,290,188, with a median age of 33.9 years; 21.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 10.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.5 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.6 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 55.0% White, 7.8% Black or African American, 1.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 7.8% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 12.0% from some other race, and 16.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 32.6% of the population.

94.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 520,981 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 40.4% were married-couple households, 23.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 562,488 housing units, of which 7.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 49.6% were owner-occupied and 50.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.8%.

2010 census

According to the census of 2010, there were 1,024,266 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,034 persons per square mile (399 persons/km2). There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 units per square mile (130 units/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 68.21% White, 9.26% Black or African American, 0.58% Native American, 4.47% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 14.56% other races, and 2.85% from two or more races. 28.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. English is the sole language spoken at home by 71.42% of the population age 5 or over, while 22.35% speak Spanish, and a Chinese language (including Mandarin, Taiwanese, and Cantonese) is spoken by 1.05%. As of the 2010 census, there were about 11.1 same-sex couples per 1,000 households in the county.

2000 census

According to the census of 2000, there were 812,280 people, of which 29.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.60% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.70% were non-families. 30.10% of all households were composed of individuals, and 4.40% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.15. 12.0% were of German, 7.7% English, 6.6% Irish and 5.5% American ancestry according to Census 2000

The population's age distribution was 23.80% under the age of 18, 14.70% from 18 to 24, 36.50% from 25 to 44, 18.20% from 45 to 64, and 6.70% age 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.50 males.

Government and politics

Like other Texas counties, Travis County is governed by a Commissioners' Court composed of the county judge and four county commissioners. The court levies county taxes and sets the budgets for county officials and agencies. The judge and commissioners are elected for four-year terms (the judge at-large, and the commissioners from geographic precincts). The other major county-wide official is the county clerk, who maintains the county's records, administers elections, and oversees legal documentation (such as property deeds, marriage licenses and assumed name certificates). The clerk is also elected at-large for a four-year term.

The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse is located in downtown Austin. The county courthouse holds civil and criminal trial courts and other functions of county government. As of 2017, the county's probate courts are in the process of being moved from the county courthouse into Austin's 1936 United States Courthouse, which was acquired by the county in 2016.

Corrections

The Travis County Jail and the Travis County Criminal Justice Center are located in downtown Austin. The Travis County Correctional Complex is located in an unincorporated area in Travis County, next to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Travis County State Jail, a state jail for men, in eastern Austin.

Politics

Travis County is one of the most consistently Democratic counties in Texas, having voted for the Democratic presidential nominee all but five times since 1932. The only exceptions have been the Republican landslide years of 1952, 1956, 1972 and 1984, when Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan each won over 400 electoral votes, and 2000, when the Republican nominee was incumbent Texas Governor George W. Bush. In 2005, Travis County was the only county in Texas to vote against the Proposition 2 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, with slightly under 60% of voters being against it.

In 2020, Travis County backed Democrat Joe Biden with nearly 72% of the vote, his strongest showing in the state and the best showing for any presidential candidate in the county since 1948. While Kamala Harris in 2024 lost some ground since 2020, her performance of 68% made Travis County the most Democratic of all Texas counties in that election. This was partly due to the Republican shift in all majority-Hispanic counties in south and west Texas, many of which held this record in the past.

The county's Democratic bent is not limited to the presidential level, as all of the county-level officials are Democrats. The county is home to UT Austin; Democrats generally do very well in counties with large public universities. In addition, the majority of the county is represented by Democrats in the US Congress, Texas Senate, and Texas House.

Texas Senate

State Senators serve four year terms with no term limits.

Texas House of Representatives

State Representatives serve two year terms with no term limits.

3rd Court of Appeals

In addition to Travis, the 3rd Court of Appeals hears cases from 23 other counties across Central Texas: Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coke, Comal, Concho, Fayette, Hays, Irion, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, McColluch, Milam, Mills, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Sterling, Tom Green, and Williamson.

All 24 counties in the district vote for justices. Justices serve six year terms in at-large seats with no term limits, besides a mandatory retirement age of 75 years old.

Following the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats flipped the majority on the 3rd Court of Appeals.

Since 2022, all elected 3rd Court of Appeals judges are members of the Democratic Party.

State District Courts

Judges serve a 4-year term, with no term limits.

As of January 2025, all elected Travis County State District Court judges are members of the Democratic Party.

County government

As of January 2025, all county elected officials are members of the Democratic Party.

*won a special election to complete an unexpired term

**court created in 2023

***office created in 2023, vacancies filled in special elections in May 2024

Austin Community College, Board of Trustees

The board governing the Austin Community College district, which Travis County is a part of alongside Hays, Caldwell, and Blanco counties, as well as portions of Williamson, Bastrop, Guadalupe, Lee, and Fayette counties. Members are elected in nonpartisan elections and serve six year terms.

*won a special election to complete an unexpired term

Economy

As of 2017, Travis County had a median household income of $68,350 per year, and a per capita income of $38,820 per year. 13.9% of the population lived below the poverty level. The county's largest employers are governments (the State of Texas, the US Federal Government, Travis County and the City of Austin) and public education bodies. Other major employers are concentrated in industries relating to semiconductors, software engineering and healthcare.

Education

K-12 education

Travis County is served by a number of public school districts; the largest is Austin Independent School District, serving most of Austin. Other districts wholly or mainly located in Travis County include Eanes ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Lago Vista ISD, Leander ISD, Del Valle ISD, Manor ISD, and Pflugerville ISD. Parts of Elgin ISD, Coupland ISD, Hutto ISD, Round Rock ISD, Marble Falls ISD, Johnson City ISD, Dripping Springs ISD and Hays Consolidated ISD also cross into Travis County.

State-operated schools include:

Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Texas School for the Deaf

Texas Blind, Deaf, and Orphan School was formerly in operation for black students pre-desegregation.

Colleges and universities

The largest university in Travis County is the University of Texas at Austin. Other universities include St. Edward's University, Huston–Tillotson University, and Concordia University Texas.

Under Texas law Austin Community College District (ACC) is the designated community college for most of the county. However, areas in Marble Falls ISD are zoned to Central Texas College District.

Healthcare

Central Health, a hospital district, was established in 2004. Brackenridge Hospital was originally built as the City-County Hospital in 1884 but Travis County ended its share of the ownership in 1907. In 2017 Brackenridge was replaced by the Dell Seton Medical Center.

Transportation

Major highways

I-35

US 183

US 290

SH 45

SH 71

SH 95

SH 130

SH 165

Loop 1 (MoPac Expressway)

Loop 111

Loop 212

Loop 275

Loop 343

Loop 360

Spur 69 (unsigned; signed as RM 2222)

Mass transit

The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) serves Austin and select surrounding areas of Travis County. It also operates the CapMetro Rail Red Line commuter rail service connecting downtown Austin to Leander in Williamson County.

The Capital Area Rural Transportation System (CARTS) connects Austin with rural areas and small towns in the rest of Central Texas.

Railroads

Amtrak's Austin station is located in downtown Austin and is served by the Texas Eagle which runs daily between Chicago and San Antonio, continuing on to Los Angeles several times a week.

Travis County is served by the Union Pacific Railroad and the Austin Western Railroad.

Air

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is the major commercial airport serving Austin.

Communities

Cities (multiple counties)

Austin (county seat) (small parts in Hays and Williamson counties)

Cedar Park (mostly in Williamson County)

Elgin (mostly in Bastrop County)

Leander (mostly in Williamson County)

Mustang Ridge (small parts in Caldwell and Bastrop counties)

Pflugerville (small part in Williamson County)

Round Rock (mostly in Williamson County)