Cedar Park 50th Anniversary



Cedar Park Celebrating 50 Years

1973-2023


The City of Cedar Park officially marked its 50th anniversary of incorporation on February 24, 2023.  All year long, we're celebrating who Cedar Park is today and the exciting future that lies ahead.  We also pause to reflect on what brought us to this golden milestone.

Cedar Park is a vibrant, multi-faceted diverse community of around 84,000 residents living in the City limits and more than 103,000 people in Cedar Park’s service area.  

As you'll see in our 50th anniversary video below, our community has been able to hang on to its small-town connectedness and natural beauty – while sowing the seeds of innovation.  




Photo Albums

Enjoy these City of Cedar Park Flickr Photo Albums of our 50th Anniversary Celebrations so far, and keep checking back for more throughout the year!. 




Fun Facts About Cedar Park

  • Median age: 34.74 years 
  • Bachelor’s Degree or higher: 51.21%
  • Percent of residents born in another country: 14%

Cedar Park is named after an actual park!

  • 46 City-maintained parks 
  • 1,000 acres of City-maintained parkland
  • 34 miles of trails



Education & Schools

Cedar Park is a highly-educated community, with more than half of all residents holding a Bachelor’s Degree or higher.  That number grows each year, and it’s one of the many things that makes Cedar Park such a popular destination for employers.  Cedar Park is also home to two recognized school districts: Leander ISD and Round Rock ISD, as well as the Austin Community College Cypress Creek Campus. Plus we;re a short commute from several major colleges and universities.

Cedar Park’s priority on education contributes to our high quality of life, and this commitment dates back centuries. 

Running Brushy School 1879

In the 1860s, early residents built a log school house where Leander ISD’s Cypress Creek Elementary School now stands.  The nearby community of Running Brushy also had a school, seen in the above 1879 photo of some students with their teacher.  

In 1923, Cedar Park and Block House Schools merged to form the Whitestone School, which once stood at the northwest corner of Bell and Whitestone Boulevards.  It was built of the area’s plentiful limestone.  


Cedar Park is the Area's Next Major Employment Hub

Cedar Park is situated in both Williamson and Travis Counties.  Directly bordering Austin, Cedar Park is the metro area’s next major employment hub. Cedar Park is also home to entrepreneurial businesses, tech and clean energy startups and even an aerospace company – not to mention endless shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities.

Hyliion Photo 3
Firefly_engine
Shop LC 1
nfm
perfect game

 

010 July_Cedar Park Regional Medical Center

Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, a Seton Family of Hospitals Partner, has served as the community’s healthcare provider since opening in 2007. It’s a 126-bed facility with more than 700 healthcare professionals to serve inpatient, outpatient, surgical and emergency care needs.


007 Cedar Park Center
Cory Joseph (2)
PBD_9789


The City of Cedar Park-owned H-E-B Center is an entertainment venue that’s home professional sports teams including the Texas Stars (AHL affiliates of the NHL’s Dallas Stars) and the NBA G-League Austin Spurs, affiliates of the San Antonio Spurs NBA team.   

Distinctly Cedar Park_Bell Redevelopment Rendering


The City of Cedar Park’s most ambitious project is now underway – in an area that was once Cedar Park’s original “downtown” – and the very spot where Cedar Park’s founders George and Harriet Cluck lived starting in 1873.  The Bell District along Bell Boulevard between Buttercup Creek Boulevard and Park Street is being redeveloped into a walkable, mixed use development and community gathering place.  It will be anchored by the Cedar Park Public Library, now under construction and set to open in 2024. How will Cedar Park look in the next 50 years? We know the best is yet to come – and we’re confident we’ll have a community that’s as friendly, vibrant and connected as we are now.


  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3



A Brief History of Cedar Park

At the time Cedar Park was incorporated in 1973, it was largely rural.  Only about 700 residents lived in Cedar Park.  Several hundred residents had petitioned for the community to incorporate as an actual city.  

The City of Cedar Park officially incorporated on February 24, 1973.  In April that year, Mayor Kenneth Bell and Aldermen  (later to be called City Council Members) Buzz Henry, Don Webster, John Dixon, Bonnie (Hunt) Merrill, and Sam Blair were sworn in outside Shellnut’s Grocery at Cedar Park Plaza.  Bell Boulevard is named after our first Mayor.

Mayor Bell and the City of Cedar Park Aldermen held their first official meeting May 1, 1973 at Rosie’s Café, close to the current location of Austin Telco Federal Credit Union on North Bell Boulevard.

002-February_First City Council sworn in

Pioneer Days

The Cedar Park community existed long before it was incorporated as a city in 1973. For tens of thousands of years, through the 1800s, Native Americans lived amongst our springs, creeks, caves, hills and rocky terrain. Evidence of Spaniards’ entrance into the area dates to the late 1600s.


In 1836, the Texas frontier defense force known as the Texas Rangers built and occupied an outpost just north of Cedar Park. Captain John J. Tumlinson and his men built a fort, which became known as Tumlinson Fort, Block House Spring, and Block House Fort. The Texas Rangers eventually vacated the fort and it was burned down by Comanches. After Texas’ independence was won, much of the land in the area was deeded to those who served in the military or helped provide war supplies.  


Pioneers, primarily the Dodd, McRae, and Crumley families, came here in the 1840s and formed the communities of Running Brushy and Doddboro. Doddboro was eventually named Doddville, then Buttercup. Buttercup had a cotton gin, store, and post office.  

The old Buttercup townsite is now underwater behind the conservation dam just west of US 183 and Avery Ranch Boulevard.


New Hope Baptist Church was founded as part of the early settlement of the Cedar Park area. Originally situated at the headwaters of Blockhouse Creek, services were likely held there as early as 1848---though it was not formally chartered until 1868.  It was rebuilt several times and is now located at US 183 and New Hope Road. The church’s cemetery holds more than 70 unmarked graves, along with many others with headstones that mark the names of well-known early residents of the community. 


George Washington Cluck and his wife Harriet “Hattie” came to the area in 1873, arriving in Running Brushy on 329 acres situated at the headwaters of Brushy Creek. The Cluck home was located on the land that’s now being developed as the Bell District, at the northwest corner of Bell and Buttercup Creek Boulevards. The Clucks’ community had a post office, and in 1874, Hattie Cluck became the community’s first postmistress.  

Hattie Cluck George CluckGeorge Cluck files homestead deed 1873

Much of the land around Cedar Park today was once part of the Cluck Ranch.  The community was renamed “Brueggerhoff” after a railroad official, then in 1887, “Cedar Park.”

November_First post office 1887Rail line through running brushy


By that time, the Austin and Northwestern Railroad ran through Cedar Park.  Emmett had a store built on the east side of the railroad, and built his home near the store.  When the Cluck Family sold to the railroad some land that was next to Emmett’s home, they stipulated that a portion of it be made into a park.  The park was situated along the railroad tracks at what is now Brushy Creek Road.  It is said to have been fully landscaped, complete with benches along walking paths.  With its park, the bustling community also had a school/church, post office/store, railroad foreman’s house, and railroad depot, and became a popular weekend travel destination for Austin folks who wanted to visit “the country.” 


DSC04666Steam train old photo on railroad trestle


The old Northwest Railroad trestle that runs over Brushy Creek just south of Brushy Creek Sports Park (seen in photos above) is a reminder of Cedar Park’s rich railroad history and pioneer spirit.  Several large granite blocks rest underneath it.  They were to have been used in the rebuilding of the State Capitol in 1886, but never made it to Austin. Thirty-six blocks of granite fell from 18 train cars, but engineer Charlie Enlow somehow managed to keep the train on track.



City Hall Locations Through the Years


  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4



A History of City Services

Water, Wastewater, & Roads

One of the primary responsibilities of a city is to provide water and wastewater access as well as road infrastructure for its citizens.  


The Cedar Park you see today looks quite different from how it looked 50 years ago, thanks in large part to something you don’t see: a complex network of water and wastewater lines that run underground throughout the City. It all started in the 1960s; prior to the City's incorporation, a group of residents formed the Cedar Park Water Service Corporation. It took then-rural residents off of well water and onto a shared water distribution system. Ensuring water for future generations and preparing Cedar Park for future growth have remained top priorities throughout the decades, as we joined two regional systems in the 1990s: the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority and the Brushy Creek Regional Wastewater System.  

IMG_5039


In addition to water and wastewater, roads are a key part of Cedar Park’s infrastructure that positioned us for success.  


Bell Realignment Ribbon Cutting-002


The Engineering & Capital Projects Department is responsible for all aspects of public roadway design and stormwater drainage program and the construction and design and construction of City facilities. The Public Works Department is responsible for the development and maintenance of the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure and consists of several divisions ranging from streets, traffic signals and fleet vehicles maintenance to water distribution, wastewater, the pumps and motors that power these systems, utility conservation programs and more. Without all of these parts of the City of Cedar Park functioning together like a fine-tuned machine, we would literally not have a city.   



Upcoming Events

Cedar Park’s 50th Anniversary Celebration continues throughout the year, with fun family activities and at several upcoming community events. Keep checking here for new information and updates.

December 2023

S M T W T F S
26 27 28 29 30 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 1 2 3 4 5 6

There are no published events in current month.

View All Events