Founded in 1872
The City of Elgin was created by the Houston and Texas Central Railroad on August 18, 1872, and named for Robert Morris Elgin, the railroad’s land commissioner, following the practice of naming new railroad towns after officers of the company. The original plat placed the train depot in the center of a one square mile area.
The City of Elgin owes its existence to a major flood of the Colorado River in 1869. Originally, the railroad was to have run from McDade, ten miles east of Elgin, southwest to the Colorado River at a point somewhere between Bastrop and Webberville, then to Austin following the river.
Many of the original residents of the new town of Elgin came from Perryville, or Hogeye as it was nicknamed, located 2 miles to the south. The community was known by three different names. The post office was officially named Young’s Settlement, and the churches and Masonic Lodge carried the name Perryville. The name Hogeye was given to the stage stop at the Litton home where the community dances were held and according to legend, the fiddler knew only one tune, "Hogeye," which he played over and over as the crowd danced on the puncheon floor.