Austin County is a rural county on the west bank of the Brazos River, on the northwest edge of the Houston metropolitan area. It is named after Stephen F. Austin, the "Father of Texas," and is located near the geographical center of his colony, which was founded in 1825. Austin's colony consisted of about 15,000 square miles between the San Jacinto and Lavaca Rivers. His capital, San Felipe de Austin, was the center of Anglo-American colonization in Texas in the late 1820s and early 1830s. Austin County's present size of 662 square miles was established in 1873. Bellville has been the county seat since 1848. The figure above shows the statutory boundaries of Austin County. The northwest and southeast ends are poorly defined or undefined in the statutes. Copyright © TexasCounties.net. The boundary overlays are from the Newberry Library.