The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Austin, Texas, United States.

19th century

1839 Austin designated capital of the Republic of Texas. Waller Plan is developed as Austin's first city plan. December 27: Austin incorporated. 1840 Edwin Waller becomes first mayor. 1841 Houston-Austin coach begins operating. Austin Lyceum active. French Legation built. 1842 – Texas seat of government relocated from Austin to Houston. 1845 – Austin becomes part of the new U.S. state of Texas. 1846 – Texas seat of government relocated back to Austin from Houston. 1850 – Population: 3,841. 1854 – Swenson Building and Ziller Building constructed. 1855 Texas State Capitol built. St. David's Episcopal Church consecrated. 1857 – General Land Office Building constructed. 1859 – Buaas's Hall (assembly room) renovated. 1860 – Wharton College opens. 1871 Houston and Texas Central Railroad begins operating. Democratic Statesman newspaper begins publication. 1872 Connectional High School and Institute founded. Penn's Circulating Library in business. 1873 – Austin Library Association active. 1874 – St. Mary's Academy founded. 1875 – Austin City Railroad begins operating. 1876 – International–Great Northern Railroad begins operating. 1877 Stuart Female Seminary founded. Tillotson College chartered. 1878 – St. Edward's University founded. 1881 November 9: State Capitol building burns down. University of Texas at Austin established. Austin High School opens. 1884 Congregation Beth Israel synagogue established. Servant Girl Annihilator murders begin (ending in 1885.) 1885 – St. Edward's College established. 1886 Driskill Hotel in business. Hill City Quartet formed. 1887 – Negro Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute opens. 1888 – Texas State Capitol rebuilt. 1894 – Heart's Ease Circle of King's Daughters (women's group) founded. 1895 – Moonlight towers installed. 1900 April: Austin Dam failure. Samuel Huston College opens.

20th century

1900s–1940s

1902 – Nixon-Clay College and Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary established. 1908 – Confederate Woman's Home opens. 1910 – Congress Avenue Bridge rebuilt. 1911 – Texas Fine Arts Association and International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 205 established. 1917 – University of Texas' School for Military Aeronautics opens. 1918 – State Office Building constructed. 1921 – Austin Civic Theatre founded. 1923 – KNOW radio begins broadcasting. 1926 Council–manager form of government effected. University Airport in operation. 1928 1928 Austin city plan is delivered to City Council. 1929 – Howson Community Center established. 1930 Municipal Airport opens. Population: 53,120. 1933 Austin Public Library building opens. State Highway Building constructed.

1934 O. Henry House museum opens. Junior League of Austin organized. 1935 Texas Federation of Women's Clubs Headquarters built. Flood. 1937 UT Tower built. KTBC radio begins broadcasting. Lyndon B. Johnson becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district. 1938 – Montopolis Bridge built. 1941 – Austin Daily Tribune Building constructed. 1942 Bergstrom Army Air Field established. Lamar Boulevard Bridge built. 1947 – Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin established.

1950s–1990s

1949 - The Austin City Coliseum opens. 1950 – Population: 132,459. 1952 KTBC-TV (television) begins broadcasting. Burnet Drive-In cinema opens. 1953 YMCA of Austin chartered. Travis High School opens in South Austin; McCallum High School opens in North Austin. 1956 – Ballet Academy founded. 1958 Goodwill Industries of Central Texas established. Town & Country Food Stores in business. 1959 - Palmer Auditorium opens. 1960 – Population: 186,545. 1961 — Lanier High School opens. Its name was changed to Juan Navarro High School in 2019. 1962 – Austin Aqua Festival begins. 1963 – Jake Pickle becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district. 1965 The Citizen newspaper in publication. Reagan High School opens. Its name was changed to Northeast High School beginning in the 2019–2020 school year. 1966 – August 1: Whitman shootings. 1967 Vulcan Gas Company music venue active. Fair Housing Ordinance established. 1968 Crockett High School opens. Sister city relationship established with Saltillo, Mexico. 1970 Armadillo World Headquarters music venue active. University of Texas' LBJ School of Public Affairs established. Population: 251,808. 1971 – Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum dedicated. Highland Mall opens. Closed in 2015. 1973 Austin Community College and regional Austin Transportation Study established. L.C. Anderson High School (Mesa Drive) and Aquarius cinema open. 1975 – Austin Community Gardens created. Northcross Mall opens. Closed in 2010. 1976 – Austin City Limits television music program begins national broadcast. 1977 – The Frank Erwin Center arena, on the University of Texas campus, opens. Demolished in 2024. 1978 – Sister city relationship established with Maseru, Lesotho. 1979 Austin Public Library new main branch building opens. Austin Shambhala Center founded. ArmadilloCon held for the first time in May. 1980 Whole Foods Market in business. Population: 345,496. 1981 Capital Area Food Bank of Texas and Le Chef College of Hospitality Careers established. Austin Chronicle and Austin Press newspapers begin publication. Sister city relationship established with Lima, Peru. Barton Creek Square Mall opens. 1982 National Wildflower Research Center and La Peña arts group founded. Pennybacker Bridge opens. 1983 Austin History Center active. Austin Children's Museum established. Sister city relationship established with Adelaide, Australia. The Luedecke Arena on the grounds of the Travis County Exposition Center, opens. 1984 – St. Michael's Catholic Academy established. 1985 Austin Film Society organized. Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival begins. 1986 Austin Lyric Opera founded. Sister city relationship established with Taichung, Taiwan. 1987 South by Southwest music festival begins. Lamar Smith becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 21st congressional district. 1988 Dell Computer Corporation in business. Bowie High School established. 1990 Sister city relationship established with Ōita City, Japan. Population: 465,622. 1991 – Sister city relationship established with Koblenz, Germany. 1992 Austin Convention Center opens. Hyde Park Theatre founded. 1993 – Sustainable Food Center and Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association chapter founded. 1994 Um-Al-Mumeneen-Sayeda-Khadija Mosque built.

1995 Lloyd Doggett becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district. Ordinary Mind Zen Group formed. City website online. Lakeline Mall opens. 1997 – Sister city relationship established with Xishuangbanna, China. 1998 – Linh-Son Buddhist Temple established. 1999 Austin–Bergstrom International Airport opens. Dell Foundation and Foodways of Austin club established. 2000 Akins High School established. George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 headquartered in Austin. Area of city: 251 square miles. Population: 656,562. Sister city relationship established with Orlu, Nigeria.

21st century

2001 – Sister city relationship established with Gwangmyeong, South Korea. 2002 Texas Archive of the Moving Image headquartered in city. The inaugural Austin City Limits Music Festival is hosted in Zilker Park. 2003 Texas Rollergirls founded. Frost Bank Tower built. 2005 – Austin Film Critics Association founded. 2009 May: Austin mayoral election, 2009 held. Texas Tribune headquartered in city. Sister city relationship established with Antalya Kepez, Turkey. 2010 February 18: 2010 Austin suicide attack. Capital MetroRail begins operating. Austin Bulldog begins publication. Area of city: 297.90 square miles. Population: city 790,390; megaregion 19,728,244. 2011 – Sister city relationship established with Angers, France. 2012 – Austin Food & Wine Alliance established. 2013 – Population: 885,400. 2014 November 28: Larry Steven McQuilliams, 49, fired at least 100 shots at several government buildings and a police station before dying of a gunshot wound. Sister city relationship established with Hackney, London. 2018 – In March, a series of explosions centered in Austin killed two civilians and injuring another five. 2020 – Population: 963,121. 2021 – Austin FC of Major League Soccer plays their first game at Q2 Stadium. 2022 – The Moody Center arena, on the University of Texas campus, opens. Replacing the Frank Erwin Center. See also History of Austin, Texas List of mayors of Austin, Texas National Register of Historic Places listings in Travis County, Texas Timeline of Texas Timelines of other cities in the Southeast Texas area of Texas: Beaumont, Houston, Pasadena

References

Bibliography

Published in 19th c.

Published in 20th c.

Stuart MacCorkle, Austin's Three Forms of Government (San Antonio: Naylor, 1973).

Austin Human Relations Commission, Housing Patterns Study: Segregation and Discrimination in Austin, Texas (Austin, 1979).

Paul D. Lack, "Slavery and Vigilantism in Austin, Texas, 1840–1860," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 85 (July 1981). David C. Humphrey, Austin: An Illustrated History (Northridge, California: Windsor, 1985). Anthony M. Orum, Power, Money and the People: The Making of Modern Austin (Austin: Texas Monthly Press, 1987). David C. Humphrey, "A 'Muddy and Conflicting' View: The Civil War as Seen from Austin, Texas," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 94 (January 1991).

Published in 21st c.

External links

Items related to Austin, Texas, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)