AUSTIN

city, capital of Texas, U.S., and seat (1840) of Travis county. It is located at the point at which the Colorado River crosses the Balcones Escarpment in the south-central part of the state. Austin originated as the riverside village of Waterloo, which in 1839 was selected by scouts as the site for the permanent capital of the Republic of Texas and renamed to honour Stephen F. Austin, father of the republic. By 1840 Austin was incorporated, with 856 residents. When Mexican invasion threatened Texas in 1842, the government moved to Houston, but the town's citizens, determined to keep Austin the capital, staged the Archives War, forcibly retaining government records. The government returned to Austin in 1845, the year in which Texas was admitted to the United States. Austin's pink granite State Capitol (1888), modeled after the U.S. Capitol, succeeded an earlier wooden structure (burned 1881); it houses museums of the Texas Confederacy and republic. The city flourished as a trading centre for ranchers and farmers after the arrival of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad in 1871. With the harnessing of the Colorado River for flood control and power in the early 20th century, industry began to develop. Austin has expanded as a research and development centre for defense and consumer industries. The city's educational resources, particularly the University of Texas, which has its main campus at Austin (1883), have contributed to that growth. Other educational institutions include Huston-Tillotson College (1875), St. Edward's University (1885), Concordia University at Austin (1926), and Austin Community College (1972). At dusk the central city is lighted by artificial moonlight from mercury vapour lamps atop 27 tall towers (erected in 1894). The O. Henry Museum is housed in what was the author's residence from 1885 to 1895, and the Elisabet Ney Museum houses a collection of her sculpture. The French Legation (1841) dates from the days of the Republic of Texas. The Lyndon Baines Johnson Library (1971), situated on the campus of the University of Texas, contains archives and documents of the president's public career. The hill country west of Austin is a recreational region with the chain of Highland Lakes (including Town Lake and Lake Austin, which wind through the city) impounded by dams along the Colorado River. Unusual rock outcrops, caverns, and springs are found in the area. Pop. (1990) city, 472,020; AustinSan Marcos MSA, 846,227; (1998 est.) city, 552,434; (1996 est.) AustinSan Marcos MSA, 1,041,330. city, seat (1857) of Mower county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. It lies along the Cedar River, in a farming area specializing in corn (maize) and livestock. It was settled in 1853, laid out in 1856, and named for its first settler, Austin R. Nicholas. Austin Community College (1940) and the Mower County Historical Center are there. George A. Hormel and Company's meat-packing and food-processing plant is the economic mainstay, supplemented by diversified manufactures including cartons, concrete products, and truck bodies. The Hormel Institute (1960), affiliated with the University of Minnesota, conducts research on the connection of fats and oils with heart disease. Several agricultural shows are held each year. Inc. city, 1873. Pop. (1991 est.) 22,192.