Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop, a prominent Dutch nobleman, was one of Stephen F. Austin’s primary negotiators with the government of Mexico for the original Angelo American colony. Because of this Mina was renamed Bastrop in the Baron’s honor. The only problem was the Baron was a fraud. He was born in Dutch Guiana to ordinary Dutch parents. None the less, the name remained and Bastrop is a thriving community with
more than 130 historic structures listed on the National register of Historic Places. Bastrop is also home to The Bastrop Advertiser, the oldest weekly newspaper in Texas which has been in operation since 1853.
The 1889 First National Bank Building is home to the Bastrop Visitor Center. The building has remained basically untouched through the years. It still has two vaults, teller windows, telephone, the President’s Desk, along with other bank items.
The Bastrop County Museum is located in the Cornelson-Fehr house built in 1850 and enlarged in 1854. The house has been home to a furniture maker as well as a ferry operator. At one time a ferry crossed the Colorado River behind the museum.
Walking the downtown area among the many historical buildings, you can just imagine what life was like in another era.
