First Capitol in Austin

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this spot right here in Travis County. Now, I want you to picture Austin in 1839. The Republic of Texas is young, proud, and still figurin' itself out, and somebody decided this very ground beneath us was the place to plant a capitol building.

They erected it right here, on this site, in 1839. Not somewhere close by. Not over the next block.

Here. And what happened inside those walls, well, that's the part that stays with you. Every president of the Republic of Texas, every single one of them, performed some official act within that building.

Think on that for a moment. Not most of them. Not the majority.

Every president. The weight of a whole republic passed through one set of walls, on one piece of ground, right where you're standing now. History has a way of settling into a place, and friend, it settled deep here.

What the marker says

The first capitol in Austin was erected on this site in 1839. Every president of the Republic of Texas performed some official act within its walls.