Pflugerville ( ) is a city in Travis County, Texas, United States, with a small portion in Williamson County. The population was 65,191 at the 2020 census. Pflugerville is a suburb of Austin and part of the Austin–Round Rock– Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was named after the original German settlers who farmed the area starting in 1849. The city was first incorporated in July 1965. The vast majority of the city lies within Travis County, but small parts of it extend into Williamson County.
History
Pfluger homestead
The area was initially settled by German immigrant Henry Pfluger Sr. (1803–1867) and members of his family from late 1849 into early 1850. Pfluger had been a wealthy farmer in Germany, but lost all of his property during the revolutions of 1848. He arrived in the country with $1,600 and purchased of land east of Austin from John Liese, a brother-in-law who had immigrated before him. In 1853, Pfluger paid Liese $960 for a tract of land in an area known as Brushy Knob. There, the family lived in a five-room log cabin and raised corn, wheat, rye, beans, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane. The Pfluger family also owned several slaves, some of whom were fluent in German.
Community development
The beginnings of the community did not develop until after the Civil War.
During the 1870s, a school and Lutheran church were established at the settlement. The first commercial business in the community was a general store built by Louis Bohls in 1890. Two local organizations, the German-American Mutual Assistance Foundation, to insure residents against natural disasters; and "Pflugerville Schützen und Kegel Verein," a shooting and bowling club, were started. Pflugerville's post office opened in 1893, with Louis Bohls serving as its first postmaster.
The population reached approximately 250 during the mid-1890s, and a small downtown developed, although most residents did their banking and shipping in Round Rock, to the northwest. The population fell slightly to 500 in 1940. In the years immediately after World War II, the community lost around a quarter of its population as citizens moved to Austin and other larger cities with greater employment opportunities.
Incorporation and growth
Efforts to incorporate Pflugerville culminated in an election on July 24, 1965. A total of 102 votes were cast, with 60 (58.8%) supporting the proposition and 42 (41.2%) opposed. The town was incorporated under a commission form of government. On April 4, 1970, an election was held that changed the form of government from commissioner to aldermanic, providing for an elected mayor and five aldermen.
Pflugerville's population began to rebound after its incorporation, and by the 1970 census, it stood at 549. That figure had risen to 745 by 1980.
A weekly newspaper, the Pflugerville Pflag, began publication in 1980.
During most of the 1980s, new development made Pflugerville one of the fastest-growing cities in Texas. Estimates from the late 1980s were as high as 3,900.
1990 to 2000s
Throughout the 1990s, the city of Austin experienced a rapid rise in its population. This was also the case in suburban areas surrounding the city. Pflugerville more than doubled in size by the next census in 2000. Since then, Pflugerville has grown by approximately 20,000, with the total number of residents approaching 40,000 as of 2008. The 2010 Census placed Pflugerville's population at 46,936, but with annexations since the 2010 census, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates it to be 59,245 as of July 1, 2016. According to data from 2000, 2010, and 2017 population estimates compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, Pflugerville has the largest percentage black population out of all suburban cities in the Austin metro.
Pflugerville elected its first Hispanic Mayor, Victor Gonzales, in 2016.
2000 to 2023
As of 2021, the population of Pflugerville continues to grow rapidly, reaching a total of 66,884.
Geography
Pflugerville is northeast of downtown Austin along FM 1825 (Pecan Street) in northern Travis County. It is northeast of the Colorado River.
According to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of 22.32 square miles. It has 40.39 square miles in the extraterritorial jurisdiction. The city has one body of water, Lake Pflugerville, created in 2005 to serve as a water reservoir and recreation area, and two creeks, Gilleland Creek and Wilbarger Creek. A local school group, Wilbarger Water Watchers, in association with the LCRA, monitors the waters of Wilbarger Creek to ensure it meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency's national standard.