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Travis County, Texas
County in Texas, US From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Travis County is located in Central Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,290,188. It is the fifth-most populous county in Texas. Its county seat and most populous city is Austin,[1] the state's capital. The county was established in 1840 and is named in honor of William Barret Travis, the commander of the Republic of Texas forces at the Battle of the Alamo. Travis County is part of the Austin–Round Rock–Georgetown Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the Balcones Fault, the boundary between the Edwards Plateau to the west and the Blackland Prairie to the east.
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History
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Prehistoric Texas
Archeologists divide the Texas prehistoric archeological record into several broad periods, four of which apply to Central Texas: pre-Clovis (ca. 18,000 plus –13,400 year ago), Paleoindian (13,400–10,000 years ago), Archaic (10,000 years ago to ca. 2000 years ago), and Late Prehistoric (ca. 1250–1150–420 years ago).[2]
An important archeological phase of Late Prehistoric for Central Texas is the Toyah phase, AKA Toyah horizon or Toyah culture. It emerges around A.D. 1300-1350 throughout the Edwards Plateau (Travis County sits on the eastern edge), and Balcones Canyonlands. Toyah phase represents the last widespread prehistoric pattern prior to the arrival of Europeans.[3][4][5]
One other important period that applies to Central Texas is what is called the Protohistoric: the short period of first contact between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans (Spanish and French) upon their first arrival; it is before the start of what is considered historic times.[6]
Early inhabitants of Central Texas date to between 12,000 to 22,000 years ago as evidenced by the Gault (archaeological site) just west of Williamson County and the Wilson-Leonard Site, best known for the discovery of Leanderthal Lady ("Leanne") at the Wilson-Leonard site near Leander, Texas.[7][8] Another two of the oldest Paleolithic archeological sites in Texas, the Levi Rock Shelter and Smith Rock Shelter, are in southwest and southeast Travis County, respectively.[9]
The Coahuiltecans, who included the Payaya people, were in South and Central Texas before European contact. Today's Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation in nearby San Antonio identify with Coahuiltecan people that were absorbed into the Spanish missions and settlement of that area.[10][11][12]
Another group that identifies as Coahuiltecan, the Miakan-Garza Band in San Marcos, include Barton Springs among the four springs part of their creation story dating to prehistoric times: Comal Springs, Barton Springs, San Marcos Springs and San Antonio Springs.[13]
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).[14] In 1691 Domingo Terán de los Ríos made an inspection tour through East Texas that likely took him through Travis Country. The first European settlers in the area were a group of Spanish friars who arrived from East Texas in July 1730. They established three temporary missions, La Purísima Concepción, San Francisco de los Neches, and San José de los Nazonis, on 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.[15]
There were a number of tribes arriving in Central Texas just before or during this period: Comanche, Lipan Apache, Tonkawa, and Waco (a branch of the Wichita). But "The present territory of Central Texas was not the long-term ancestral homeland of any indigenous group for whom an ethnographic account exists. The ethnographically well-known Comanche, Apache, Wichita, Kiowa, and even the Tonkawa arrived in central Texas just before or during the early European contact period."[16][17][18][19]
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 near what is now Bastrop, Texas (in future Travis County) in 1827.[20] Josiah and Mathias Wilbarger, Reuben Hornsby, Jacob M. Harrell, and John F. Webber were early settlers who moved into the area in the early 1830s.
Republic of Texas Period
In 1836 Texas declared and won its independence from Mexico, forming a new Republic of Texas. 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.[21]
A new county was also established the following year, of which Austin would be the seat; the county was named Travis County, after William B. Travis, commander of the Alamo. Travis County was originally a part of Bastrop County; many old land records from the time of Mexican Texas for Travis County were originally filed with the Bastrop County Clerk's Office. Later a number of other counties were carved from the original boundaries of Travis County: Callahan (1858), Coleman (1858), Comal (1846), Gillespie (1848), Hays (1848), Burnet (1852), Brown (1856), Lampasas (1856), Eastland (1858), Runnels (1858), and Taylor (1858).[22][23]
In the years following the battle of San Jacinto in 1836, Mexican leaders periodically threatened to renew hostilities against Texas. March 5, 1842, at the direction of Antonio López de Santa Anna, a force of 700 men under Ráfael Vásquez (general) marched into Texas and seized San Antonio. Forewarned of the Mexican advance, most residents had already evacuated allowing Vasquez to enter the town unopposed. Fearing a subsequent attack on Austin (which never came), many residents left Austin and President Houston moved the capital to Houston on March 13, 1842; it was then moved to Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas September of that same year. It was during this period the Texas Archive War took place. The capital was moved once more, back to Austin, in 1845.[24][25]
Civil War, Reconstruction and Beyond
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.
Reconstruction began with the end of the Civil War lasting from 1865 to 1870. As the capital of Texas, Austin played a central role in administration of Reconstruction policies and programs. U.S. Army troops were stationed in Austin to enforce new laws and protect African Americans.[26]
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, better known as The Freedmen’s Bureau, was administered from Austin helping formerly enslaved people with labor contracts, education, and legal disputes.[27]
During Reconstruction Travis County saw the formation of many Freedom colonies by enslaved African Americans.[28]
March 30, 1870, President Grant signed the act that readmitted Texas to the Union and ended Reconstruction.
From the end of the Civil War to the early twenty-first century, Travis County has experienced steady, rapid population growth (averaging more than a 36% increase every decade from 1870 to 2010), driven largely by the growth of Austin and its suburbs; it is now the fifth most populous county in Texas, after Harris (Houston), Dallas, Tarrant (Fort Worth) and Bexar (San Antonio) counties.
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Geography
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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.[29] 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.[30]
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.
Major highways
Travis County is crossed by Interstate Highway 35, US Highways 183 and 290, and Texas Highway 71. IH-35 leads northward to Waco and Dallas–Fort Worth and southward to San Antonio. US-183 leads northward through Cedar Park to Lampasas and southward to Lockhart. US-290 leads westward to Fredericksburg and eastward to Houston. TX-71 leads westward to Marble Falls and eastward to Bastrop.
Other major highways within the county include Texas Highway Loop 1 (the "Mopac Expressway"), which runs from north to south through the center of the county, and Texas Highway 45, which forms parts of an incomplete highway loop around Austin. Texas Highway 130 (constructed as an alternative to IH-35 for long-distance traffic wishing to avoid Austin and San Antonio) also runs from north to south through the sparsely populated eastern part of the county.
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.
Adjacent counties
- Williamson County (north)
- Bastrop County (southeast)
- Caldwell County (south)
- Hays County (southwest)
- Blanco County (west)
- Burnet County (northwest)
Protected areas
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Demographics
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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.[40]
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[41]
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.
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Government and Politics
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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[update], 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.[42]
Corrections
The Travis County Jail and the Travis County Criminal Justice Center are located in Downtown Austin.[43][44] The Travis County Correctional Complex is located in an unincorporated area in Travis County, next to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.[45]
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the Travis County State Jail, a state jail for men, in eastern Austin.[46]
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.[47]
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.[48]
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, with Democrats generally doing very well in counties with universities.[49] In addition, the majority of the county is represented by Democrats in the US Congress, Texas Senate, and Texas House.
United States Congress
*Pete Sessions previously represented the Dallas-based 32nd District. He was defeated by Colin Allred in the 2018 midterm elections. In 2020, he won the Central-Texas-based 17th District seat to replace outgoing Congressman Bill Flores.
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.[51]
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.[52]
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
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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.[34] 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.[57]
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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.[58]
State-operated schools include:
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.[59]
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Healthcare
Central Health, a hospital district, was established in 2004.[60] Brackenridge Hospital was originally built as the City-County Hospital in 1884 but Travis County ended its share of the ownership in 1907.[61] In 2017 Brackenridge was replaced by the Dell Seton Medical Center.[62]
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)
Cities
Villages
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Ghost towns
- Daffan
- Decker
- Maha
- Manda
- Montopolis
- Nameless
- New Katy
Austin neighborhoods
- Anderson Mill
- Four Points
- Jollyville
- Kincheonville
- Merrilltown
- Oak Hill
- Onion Creek
- Pleasant Hill
- Tanglewood Forest
- Windemere
- Waters Park
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See also
References
External links
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