Austin, Travis County
When Austin became the capital of the Republic of Texas, Edwin Waller (1800-1881) deisgned the site on which to locate the residence of the President. A two-story white frame house was completed in 1839 on a large hilltop site, and was occupied by President Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859), San Houston (1793-1863) may have also lived in the home, which was destroyed by fire in 1847. St. Mary's Academy, a Catholic girls' school, was located here from 1885 to 1947. The school was razed and the hill was leveled in 1954. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.