DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to do it justice. Now, Travis County. The name alone ought to tell you something about what this ground has seen and who it remembers.
The county was created on January 25, 1840 — not quite four years after the events that made the name mean something — and organized on April 8, 1843. It was named in honor of William Barrett Travis, and if you don't already know that name, well, hold on. Travis was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, on August 1, 1809.
He came to Texas in 1831, and whatever brought him here, Texas is where history found him. He rose to the role of Commander at the Alamo, and on March 6, 1836, he was killed there. That's the short version of a story that takes a long time to stop echoing.
Now, the county seat of Travis County is Austin. And Austin wasn't just any town that happened to be nearby. It was selected as the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1839 — the Republic, mind you, not yet a state, not yet anything so settled as that.
And then, by a vote of the people in 1850, Austin was made the permanent capital of the State of Texas. The people weighed in, and they made it official. This marker was erected by the State of Texas in 1936.
A county named for a man killed holding a line. Its seat the capital of two different governments. Some places carry weight, and Travis County has been carryin' it since before the ink was dry on either document.
What the marker says
Created January 25, 1840 Organized April 8 1843 Named in honor of William Barrett Travis Born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, August 1, 1809. Came to Texas in 1831, Commander at the Alamo, where he was killed March 6, 1836. Austin, the County Seat, selected as the capital of the Republic of Texas in 1839 and by a vote of the people in 1850 made the permanent Capital of the State of Texas. Erected by the State of Texas 1936