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Bastrop County Courthouse Complex
Photo Courtesy of Neil
R. Gurwitz |
One of the oldest towns in Texas, Bastrop was founded at the Colorado
River crossing of the Camino Real (the Spanish-built road connecting
Mexico and the Texas missions) between San Antonio and Nacogdoches.
Settled briefly during the Spanish Colonial period, Bastrop was colonized
by the founder of Anglo Texas, Stephen F. Austin, about 1830. Bastrop
became one of the few Texas towns established during Mexican rule. The
downtown Bastrop Commercial District includes many Victorian commercial
buildings. Bastrop has more than 100 historic buildings as well as other
resources, including the Bastrop County Courthouse and Jail Complex,
listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Scattered throughout
the town are large, elegant Greek Revival, Victorian, and early 20th-century
houses as well as one-story Victorian cottages. The Bastrop State Park
is an outstanding example of a state park constructed by the Civilian
Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The Bastrop Old Town Visitor Center
is located in the 1889 First National Bank Building 1016 Main Street in
downtown Bastrop.
Bastrop, is located east of Austin on the Colorado River
at the intersection of US 71 and Highway 95. Visit the Old Town Visitor
Center website
or call 512-303-0904 for further information. The Bastrop State
Park, a National Historic Landmark is located east of downtown on Highway
21. Visit the park's website or call 512-321-2101 for visitor information.
Several historic places in Bastrop have also
been documented
by the Historic American Buildings Survey.
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