1869 The black community of Wheatville is founded when James Wheat purchases land on San Gabriel Street, about a mile northwest of the capital.
1871 The black community of Clarksville is founded west of town when Charles Clark purchases two acres near what is now West 10th Street. The first railway to Austin is completed sparking an economic boom.
1875 The Austin City Railroad Company inaugurates the city's first streetcar line. By 1880 the mule-drawn cars will carry 20,000 riders a year.
1881 An act to establish the University of Texas is signed into law.
1882 Austin defeats Houston and Prairie View in an election to determine the site of the University of Texas branch for blacks, but the victory proves meaningless when the legislature postpones establishing the branch indefinitely.
1887 The Texas Institute for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Colored Youth opens northwest of town.
1891 Electric streetcars make their initial run from Congress Avenue to Hyde Park. Austin expands from 4 to 16 square miles putting South Austin in the city limits.
