Austin was originally called Waterloo before being renamed Austin in 1839.
The settlement stood along the Colorado River in what was then a lightly populated part of the Republic of Texas. President Mirabeau B. Lamar supported moving the capital away from Houston to a more central inland location, and Waterloo was chosen as the site.
The new capital was renamed Austin to honor Stephen F. Austin, the empresario often called the “Father of Texas.” The government’s relocation helped establish the settlement as a permanent political center, even though the choice was controversial at the time.
Waterloo is sometimes mistaken for a separate modern Texas city. In this historical context, however, Waterloo was the early name of present-day Austin. Houston later became the state’s largest city, but Austin remained the capital.