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On the heels of its independence from Mexico in March 1836, the Republic of Texas had various sites for its government seat. The planned townsite of Waterloo, located near the mouth of Shoal Creek on the Colorado River, was surveyed in 1838. The location, incorporated in January 1839, was selected to be the new capital in April of that year.
A bill, passed in May 1838, specified that any future site selected as the state capital would be called Austin – after the eponymous “Father of Texas,” Stephen Fuller Austin.
Cheers to the city of Austin (aka Waterloo) on celebrating 185 years.
– Hannah Van Sickle, The 100 Companies