What Bastrop is actually like
The site was first occupied in 1804 as a fort and river crossing on the Colorado River; Stephen F. Austin secured permission in 1827 to settle a “Little Colony” of 100 families there. The town was formally platted and named on June 8, 1832, for Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop, a Dutch-born official who had helped Austin secure his original Texas land grants, and it was incorporated on December 18, 1837, under the Republic of Texas — making it one of the older platted towns in the state. Three Bastrop-area residents signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, and several died at the Alamo.
Bastrop sits within “the Lost Pines” — an isolated stand of loblolly pines geographically separated from East Texas's main piney woods, historically the basis of a local lumber economy. Its historic downtown retains 131 registered historic structures and is designated a Texas Main Street city. Bastrop is also known for the devastating September 2011 Bastrop County Complex wildfire, which destroyed 1,691 homes, killed two people, and caused an estimated $325 million in insured damage — at the time, widely reported as the most destructive wildfire in Texas history. The city's population was 9,688 at the 2020 Census, and 13,383 per the Census Bureau's 2025 estimate.
Home values in Bastrop
Zillow tracks home values city-by-city, not for every neighborhood within a city — Bastrop is one of the pockets that doesn't get its own figure. Rather than publish a citywide number that might not reflect this specific part of town, we're leaving pricing out of this particular guide for now.
Getting around
Located along the Highway 71/State Highway 95 corridor southeast of Austin; primarily car-dependent, with no passenger rail service.
Bastrop FAQ
Is Bastrop at wildfire risk today?
The area experienced a historic, highly destructive wildfire in September 2011 (1,691 homes lost) driven by drought conditions and the density of the surrounding Lost Pines forest; wildfire risk is a genuine consideration in the wooded parts of the area, worth asking about directly regarding defensible space and insurance.
What makes the Lost Pines unique?
It's an isolated stand of loblolly pines geographically separated from East Texas's main pine forest — an ecological “island” that gives Bastrop a wooded character distinct from the rest of Central Texas.
What school district serves Bastrop?
Bastrop Independent School District (Bastrop ISD).
How historic is downtown Bastrop?
The town was platted in 1832 and incorporated in 1837; its downtown retains 131 registered historic structures, among the more intact historic small-town cores in Texas.