Elgin, TX

Elgin is a small city east of Austin, with parts in Bastrop and Travis counties. It grew from an 1871 Houston and Texas Central Railroad flag stop called Glasscock, and the local Chamber of Commerce still occupies the original 1872 railroad building. That rail origin gives Elgin a real old-town center even as Austin-area growth moves closer. The city is also known regionally for barbecue and brickmaking. Elgin feels like a Central Texas rail town being steadily pulled into the Austin orbit.