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Our town's history began when Bastrop's namesake, Felipe Enrique Neri or the
"Baron de Bastrop," assisted Moses and Stephen F. Austin in obtaining land
grants in Texas. In 1827, Stephen F. Austin located 100 families in an area
adjacent to his earlier Mexican contracts. Austin then arranged for Mexican
officials to name the new town there after Neri, who died the same year. On June
8, 1832, the town of Bastrop was platted along conventional Mexican lines, with
a square in the center and blocks set aside for public buildings. The town was
incorporated
on December 18, 1837.
Overlooking the town is the Lost Pines Forest.
As the only timber available
in the area, the forest contributed heavily to the local economy. Bastrop began
supplying Austin with lumber in 1839 and later San Antonio, the western
Texas
frontier and even Mexico. |
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