Bastrop () is a city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Bastrop County, Texas
Bastrop County is located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in Central Texas and its county seat is Bastrop, Texas, Bastrop. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 97,216. Bastrop County is included in the ...
, United States. The population was 9,688 according to the
2020 census.
It is located about southeast of
Austin
Austin refers to:
Common meanings
* Austin, Texas, United States, a city
* Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters
* Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...
and is part of the
Greater Austin
The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area, metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of ...
metropolitan area.
History

Spanish soldiers lived temporarily at the current site of Bastrop as early as 1804, when a fort was established where the
Old San Antonio Road
The Old San Antonio Road was a historic roadway located in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. Parts of it were based on traditional Native American trails. Its Texas terminus was about southeast of Eagle Pass, Texas, Eagle Pass at the Rio ...
crossed the
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
and named ''Puesta del Colorado''.
Bastrop's namesake,
Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop
Felipe Enrique Neri (born ''Philip Hendrik Nering Bögel''; November 23, 1759 in Paramaribo, Surinam (Dutch colony), Surinam – 23 February 1827) was a Dutch businessman and land owner known for his money in English American, Anglo-American ...
, was a commoner named Philip Hendrik Nering Bogel, who was wanted for
embezzlement
Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...
in his native country of the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. In Texas, he assisted
Moses
In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
and
Stephen F. Austin in obtaining land grants in Texas and served as Austin's land commissioner. In 1827, Austin located about 100 families in an area adjacent to his earlier Mexican contracts. Austin arranged for Mexican officials to name a new town there after the baron who died the same year.
On June 8, 1832, the town was platted along conventional Mexican lines, with a square in the center and blocks set aside for public buildings. The town was named Bastrop, but two years later, the
Coahuila y Tejas
Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution.
It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...
legislature renamed it Mina in honor of
Francisco Javier Mina, a Mexican revolutionary hero and
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
. The town was incorporated under the laws of the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
on December 18, 1837, and the name was changed back to Bastrop.
Overlooking the center of the town is the
Lost Pines Forest. Composed of
loblolly pine
''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...
s (''Pinus taeda''), the forest is the center of the westernmost stand of the
southern pine forest. As the only timber available in the area, the forest contributed to the local economy. Bastrop began supplying Austin with lumber in 1839 and then
San Antonio
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
, the western Texas frontier, and parts of Mexico.
A fire in 1862 destroyed most of downtown Bastrop's commercial buildings and the county courthouse. As a result, most current downtown structures postdate the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. In 1979, the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
admitted 131 Bastrop buildings and sites to its listings. This earned Bastrop the title of the "Most Historic Small Town in Texas".
The first edition of the ''Bastrop Advertiser and County News'' (now ''
The Bastrop Advertiser'') was published on March 1, 1853, giving it claim to be the oldest continuously published weekly (semiweekly since September 5, 1977) in Texas. The wider Bastrop County is also covered by papers such as the ''
Elgin Courier''.
On September 4, 2011, two wildfires started when trees fell on power lines. The first fire started in the community of
Circle D-KC Estates near
Bastrop State Park, and the other fire started about north. The two fires merged into the
Bastrop County Complex fire. This was the worst and most destructive wildfire in Texas history, as it destroyed 1,691 homes, killed two people, and caused $325 million of insured property damage. The drought in Texas at the time combined with strong winds from the
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...
caused by
Tropical Storm Lee helped fuel the fire.
Geography
Bastrop is located near the center of Bastrop County along the lower
Colorado River
The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...
. The downtown business district of the city is located on a bluff on the east bank of the river, but the city extends to the west side of the river, as well. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.23%, is covered by water.
Three miles (5 km) northeast of the town,
Lake Bastrop is a reservoir on Spicer Creek operated by the
Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) since its impounding in 1964. Although primarily used as a cooling pond for the
Sim Gideon Power Plant, the lake is also used for recreation, and the LCRA maintains two public parks on the lake.
Climate
Bastrop tends to be cooler than other central Texas cities, but can reach 100 °F in the summer. Extreme temperatures range from –1 to 111 °F.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 9,688 people, 3,188 households, and 2,022 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, 5340 people resided in Bastrop, in 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density was . The 2,239 housing units averaged 308.1 per square mile (118.9/km
2). The
racial makeup of the city was 72.3% White, 17.0% African American, 1.0% Asian, 0.7% Native American, 7.0% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. About 17.8% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Of the 2,034 households, 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.3% were not families. About 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, the population was distributed as 25.5% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 21.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,212, and for a family was $49,258. Males had a median income of $34,388 versus $27,582 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $19,862; 11.7% of the population and 10.1% of families were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
. Of the total population, 15.6% of those under the age of 18 and 13.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Economy
As of 2020, the area's four largest employers are the Bastrop Independent
School District
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...
, Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, Bastrop County government, and MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The
Hyatt
Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational corporation, multinational hospitality company headquartered in the 150 North Riverside, Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchise ...
Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa (situated about 15 mi west of the City of Bastrop on 405 acres), opened on June 2, 2006, with 491 rooms and gave a boost to employment and sales tax in the area. When the property changed ownership in 2011, officials stated it employed 600 individuals plus 175 additional seasonal employees – making it the largest private employer in Bastrop County.
Elon Musk
Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...
's companies have buildings located just outside Bastrop city limits, including
The Boring Company headquarters, a
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an America, American space technology company headquartered at the SpaceX Starbase, Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas. Since its founding in 2002, the compa ...
facility, and the future headquarters of
X.
Government and infrastructure
Federal Correctional Institution Bastrop, a prison of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...
, is in nearby
Camp Swift.
Education

The
Bastrop Independent School District serves Bastrop.
Some residents are zoned to Mina Elementary School,
while others are zoned to Emile Elementary School.
All residents are zoned to Bastrop Intermediate School, Bastrop Middle School, and
Bastrop High School.
Austin Community College conducts night and continuing-education classes at Bastrop High School.
From 1893 until 1969,
Emile High School served as the segregated black high school.
Notable people
*
Carolyn Banks, fiction writer
*
Trent Brown
Trenton Jacoby Brown (born April 13, 1993) is an American professional American football, football tackle (American football), offensive tackle for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia ...
, offensive tackle in the
NFL for the
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...
*
John Wheeler Bunton, Texas pioneer and signatory of the Texas Declaration of Independence
*
Geoff Connor, former
Texas Secretary of State, American public servant, attorney, historian, and businessman
*
Greenleaf Fisk (1807–1888), a legislator in the Republic of Texas and Bastrop County chief justice
*
Louis Edwin Fry Sr. (1903–2000), former chair of the department of architecture at
Howard University
Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...
*
Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday (born June 16, 1987) is an American author, originally a marketer, who made a name writing books and marketing them in non-traditional ways.
Holiday's debut to writing was in 2012, when he published ''Trust Me, I'm Lying''. Since ...
, author
*
Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi Pugh ( ; born September 29, 1980) is an American actor. He starred as Chuck Bartowski in the action comedy series ''Chuck (TV series), Chuck'' (2007–2012), and as Captain Marvel (DC Comics), the titular character in the superher ...
, actor
*
Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...
, director and writer
*
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has wo ...
, science fiction/fantasy writer
*
Thomas R. Phillips, former
Texas Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...
Chief Justice
*
Rodney Reed, Texas death row inmate
*
Billy Waugh, former American Special Forces sergeant major and CIA officer
*
Lovie Yancey
Lovie Yancey (January 3, 1912 – January 26, 2008) was an American business entrepreneur and founder of the Fatburger restaurant chain.
Founding of Fatburger
Yancey originally owned a small restaurant in Tucson. In 1947, she founded Fatburg ...
, founder of international burger chain
Fatburger
Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain owned by FAT Brands. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast-food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to o ...
Film industry

Several
movies
A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...
were at least partially filmed in Bastrop, including ''
Lovin' Molly'' (1974), the original ''
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
''The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'' is a 1974 American independent horror film produced, co-composed, and directed by Tobe Hooper, who co-wrote it with Kim Henkel. The film stars Marilyn Burns, Paul A. Partain, Edwin Neal, Jim Siedow, ...
'' (1974), ''
Home Fries'' (1998), ''
Courage Under Fire'' (1996), and the 2004 remake of ''
The Alamo''. Other projects include ''
All The Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006) and ''
Fireflies in the Garden'' (2008).
The remake of
''Friday the 13th'' was also partially filmed in Bastrop. Filmed in and near Bastrop were ''
The Life of David Gale
''The Life of David Gale'' is a 2003 crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Alan Parker, written by Charles Randolph, co-produced by Nicolas Cage, and starring Kevin Spacey as the title character, a college professor and longtime acti ...
'', ''
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* he He ..., a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name
* Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
'', ''
Hope Floats'' 1998, ''
True Women'' 1998 (TV movie), ''
The Tree of Life'' 2010, and ''
Bernie'' 2010.
Also partially filmed near Bastrop on the Buck Steiner Ranch was ''
A Perfect World
''A Perfect World'' is a 1993 American thriller crime drama film directed by Clint Eastwood. It stars Kevin Costner as an escaped convict who takes a young boy ( T. J. Lowther) hostage and attempts to escape on the road with the child. Eastwo ...
''. In late 2012 and early 2013, the film ''Joe Ransom'' was partially filmed in Bastrop at the Lost Pines Boy Scout Park. ''
Prince Avalanche'' (2013) was shot in Bastrop. ''
Boyhood'' (2014) was shot in the Lost Pines of Bastrop.
See also
*
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Bastrop County
*
Fairview Cemetery (Bastrop, Texas)
References
External links
City of Bastrop official websiteHandbook of Texas Online article
{{authority control
Cities in Texas
Cities in Bastrop County, Texas
County seats in Texas
Greater Austin
1827 establishments in Mexico