Austin Texas History

My family came from Sweden and settled in the east Austin, Texas area in 1871, the year the Houston and Texas Central Railroad came to Austin on Pine Street, which is now 5th Street and the old train station is Carmelo’s restaurant. My grandfather was a Travis County farmer who put himself through Law School at UT. He and his wife, Betty Signe (Bengston) Sandstrom, whom I am named after, lived here in Austin at 608 Texas Avenue near 38 & 1/2 at Montrose. I loved that old house. It has a basement and is right down from Waller Creek (which was once the eastern boundary of Austin). The big ole’ front porch was perfect for being in the shade on hot Summer afternoons. This is a trend in homes that is now making a comeback with the greenbuilding movement. My Grandma Betty Sandstrom is pictured in the March 1955 photo below second from left. In 1955 Austin had only 159,502 people.