Unattended Death and Biohazard Cleanup in Elgin, TX

Elgin was officially platted on August 18, 1872, along the Houston and Texas Central Railway and named for Robert Morris Elgin, the railroad's land commissioner and surveyor.

Elgin almost never existed — the railroad originally planned to run about ten miles east through McDade, but a major Colorado River flood in 1869 forced the line to be rerouted through what became Elgin.

In 1995 the Texas Legislature proclaimed Elgin the "Sausage Capital of Texas," honoring a smoked-sausage tradition that began when William Moon started selling smoked links, or "hot guts," door-to-door in 1882.

Elgin is also called the "Brick Capital of the Southwest," a title rooted in the brick-making enterprise Thomas O'Conner started in 1884 and the preserved red-brick buildings that still line its historic Main Street.

Southside Market in Elgin, which traces its roots to 1886, is billed as the oldest barbecue joint in Texas, while Meyer's Elgin Sausage is the city's other famous sausage maker.

Elgin's annual Hogeye Festival, held at Elgin Memorial Park, takes its name from Hogeye (also called Perryville), the old stage-stop community the railroad bypassed and whose residents Elgin absorbed.

The 2020 census counted 9,784 people in Elgin, and Census Bureau estimates put the population at about 13,327 by July 2025 as Austin-area growth pushes east.

Elgin has roughly 4,375 households, and about 71% of its homes are owner-occupied.

Elgin sits mostly in Bastrop County with a portion in Travis County, about 25 miles east of Austin at the junction of U.S. Highway 290 and State Highway 95.

The site of Elgin's original railroad depot is preserved as the Elgin Depot Museum, and the city offers heritage walking tours of its historic downtown.