# Timeline of Austin, Texas

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

## 19th century

Part of a series on the :
History of Texas :
Timeline :
| Pre-Columbian Texas | |
| Early Spanish explorations | 1519–1543 |
| French Texas | 1684–1689 |
| Spanish Texas | 1690–1821 |
| Mexican Texas | 1821–1836 |
| Republic of Texas | 1836–1845 |
| Statehood | 1845–1860 |
| Civil War Era | 1861–1865 |
| Reconstruction | 1865–1899 |
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* 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

* 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.
* 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.
* 1976 – Austin City Limits television music program begins national broadcast.
* 1978 – Sister city relationship established with Maseru, Lesotho.
* 1979
** Austin Public Library new main branch building opens.
** Austin Shambhala Center founded.
* 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.
* 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.
* 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.
** "Goodwill Computer Museum founded". Archived from the original on May 7, 2013.
* 1995
** Lloyd Doggett becomes U.S. representative for Texas's 10th congressional district.
** Ordinary Mind Zen Group formed.
** City website online.
* 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.