Bastrop, Texas

Bastrop sits in the county seat of Bastrop County, just 30 miles east of Austin. Six state highways intersect in Bastrop, Highways 71, 21, 95 304, FM969 and FM1441. US Hwy 290 is only 13 miles north-east. It is conveniently located 22 miles from Austin Bergstrom Int'l Airport. Bastrop is a convenient stopping or resting point for those traveling between Austin and Houston.

Bastrop is a small historic town rich in history which dates back to the early 1800’s. It has been named “The Most Historic Small Town in Texas.” This title was given after close to 140 Bastrop buildings and sites were officially listed in the National Register of Historic Places. It also helps that Bastrop is the second oldest incorporated town in Texas. Though stone artifacts from the Bastrop area suggest human occupation as early as 12,000 to 8,000 years ago, Bastrop did not see its first settlers until around1805. About 60 different Indian groups were discovered and recorded by early Spanish explorers and travelers between 1691 and the early 1800’s. In 1823 the Mexican government gave Stephen F. Austin a territory for his original colony, or his “Little Colony.” As settlement went forward, Austin won permission in 1827 to expand the colony north of the Old San Antonio Road and establish a town where the 1795 Spanish road from East Texas to San Antonio crossed the Colorado River, the site of a fort or guard house for soldiers watching the road as early as 1805. The town was named Bastrop for Austin's friend and business associate Philip Hendrick Nering-Bogel, or the self proclaimed “Baron de Bastrop.” Philip was a native of the Netherlands, which he fled after being wanted for embezzlement.  The city of Bastrop was officially founded on June 8th, 1832, when the town was platted along conventional Mexican lines, with a square in the center and blocks set aside for public buildings. Bastrop was briefly renamed Mina in honor of Francisco Javier Mina, a Mexican martyr and hero, but after the town was incorporated under the laws of Texas on December 18, 1837, the name was changed back to Bastrop.

Bastrop County was among the 10 original counties created in 1836 by the First Congress of the Republic of Texas. After an 18-month effort, Bastrop finished second in a competition to name a permanent capital for the Republic in 1839. The winner was a tiny community called Waterloo, now Austin, some 30 miles up the Colorado River. Bastrop’s economy got a jump start in the beginning thanks to its abundant supply of timber from the pine forests in and around the city. Soon, Bastrop began supplying Austin, San Antonio and much of the Texas frontier and Mexico with lumber. As Texas grew and settlement continued, Bastrop’s local economy flourished. In 1862, a fire destroyed most of downtown Bastrop, thus making most of the downtown structures post Civil War. Three Bastropians signed the Texsas Declaration of Independence. Twelve men from Bastrop died at the Battle of the Alamo.

Living in Bastrop

With a current population exceeding 8,000, Bastrop proudly strives to preserve its historic past while embracing the challenges of modern-day growth and economic needs. Today, Bastrop is rapidly growing. In 2007 it was named an official Texas Main Street city by the Texas Historical Commission, a designation which will help them preserve the past as well as promote responsible growth. This program is a revitalization program for historic downtown and neighborhood commercial districts. In November of 2004, Bastrop became one of 68 cities in Texas to be designated as a Preserve America community. There are only 603 cities in the United States to receive this prestigious designation.

Bastrop is home to a large bio-tech industry, with at least a half-dozen medical research, manufacturing, and related businesses in the immediate area. The University of Texas Veterinary Science Park and MD Anderson Cancer Research Center anchor the bio-tech community in Bastrop, along with smaller ventures that serve the sector. Bastrop boasts a growing business community including a new Business and Industrial Park consisting of 263 acres of wooded hills and lush flats. The City of Bastrop established the Bastrop Business and Industrial Park in 1996 to facilitate the need for more local jobs. Recent studies show approximately 40% of Bastrop’s workforce is employed outside of the city, but would much rather work in town. The park is already home to several prosperous enterprises including a medical manufacturer, a drug testing and evaluation facility, and a major art sculpture foundry. Companies wishing to locate in the Business Park might qualify for the BEDC’s biggest incentive – free land. More than 150 contiguous acres are still available in the Park, with prime sites to suit most commercial and industrial needs. Union Pacific Railroad runs alongside the Business Park, and permission has already been granted to construct a rail spur to serve Park occupants. Other incentives are also available on a case-by-case basis, depending on the amount of investment and number of jobs created for local residents. The new Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa opened in 2006, bringing many tourists from all over the world and introducing them to this charming little town.

Homes in Bastrop

Bastrop has a growing, talented, and very community-oriented population, comfortably blending those whose families have been in the area for many generations with more recently arrived residents. The once small Texas town with historic pre-Civil War buildings, homes, and architecture, has now outgrown the concentrated downtown area. There are many new neighborhoods and subdivisions popping up around the downtown area. While some people dream of owning a piece of history in one of these old classic downtown homes, others prefer to have a newer home in one of Bastrop’s inviting new subdivisions, and then some want the wide open space of their very own ranch tucked away in the country. Whatever your desire, Bastrop’s wide variety of available real estate is sure to catch your eye. Your biggest dilemma may just be trying to decide on just one house.