City of Bastrop history

In 1805 the Fort "Puesta del Colorado" and accompanying community were founded here to protect commerce on the road.

In 1825 this area became "Mina," one of the first settlements in the colony of Stephen F. Austin.

In the three years following the 1832 establishment of the town, the population of the area swelled to 1,100 or so, adding many new immigrants to pioneers such as Edward Burleson, Reuben Hornsby and Josiah Wilbarger.

In 1833, Wilbarger was a member of a scouting party near Bastrop when a group of Comanches attacked.

In 1834, the Mexican government renamed the town Mina, after a Spanish war hero.

In May 1835, Mina citizens became the first to organize a committee of safety to stockpile arms and keep citizens informed of revolutionary developments.

Unfortunately, the town was entirely destroyed in 1836 when the Mexican army razed it as they chased settlers east across the territory.

In 1839, when Austin became the capital of the republic, Bastrop began supplying the city with lumber.

In 1853, the Bastrop Advertiser began its long publishing history.

The Bastrop Academy opened, and in 1856 the Bastrop Military Institute opened in the same building.

A fire in 1862 destroyed most of the downtown, but it was rebuilt in the following decades, along with many charming Victorian-style houses and buildings which are still standing today.

There’s a thriving local arts scene, anchored by the Deep in the Heart Art Foundry, the 1889 Bastrop Opera House and the new Jerry Fay Wilhelm Center for the Performing Arts.

A wrought-iron bridge built across the Colorado in 1890 put in-town ferries out of business.