Community Highlights

Things are always a little bit larger and better in Texas. Austin is
home to a university so large it is considered the third largest landowner in the United States. That may be why Austin is said to be the brainiest city in the USA, boasting the nations highest rate of computer literacy, college degrees, and book publishing per capita.

Community Links

For more community information and highlights check out our informational pages on our Newcomer's Guide to Austin:

Austin Newcomers Guide
About Austin (21)
Education (6)
Health (9)
Hobbies / Interests (68)
Hotels (9)
Nighlife / Music (14)
Organizations (36)
Real Estate (18)
Religious (15)
Restaurants (4)
Services (50)
Shopping (9)

The area was occupied originally by Native Americans, then by Franciscan missionaries before it was settled in 1838 by a small group of families who called it Waterloo. A year later the community was commissioned capital of the Republic of Texas by the republic’s president, Sam Houston. At that time the city was incorporated and renamed for Stephen F. Austin, the acknowledged Father of Texas. Though the capital moved to Houston after a series of Indian raids, it returned in 1845. Following the arrival of the railroad in 1871 the town grew rapidly, and by the turn of the century had emerged as a major cosmopolitan city. In the 1880s the University of Texas was established.