Georgetown at a glance
Georgetown is the county seat of Williamson County. It sits on Interstate 35 and the San Gabriel River, about 28 road miles north of downtown Austin and about 23 miles south of Salado. This is Williamson County, not Bell County. The Bell County line is farther north, past Jarrell.
The town straddles the Balcones Escarpment. East of it the land is flatter, with dark farm soil. West of it the ground turns to limestone hills, cedar and oak. The courthouse square is the center of town, with Southwestern University to the east and Lake Georgetown a short drive west.
A short history
Georgetown was founded in 1848 and named for George Washington Glasscock, who donated the townsite with his partner Thomas B. Huling. The Texas State Historical Association records that the big cattle trails of the era ran through town. Southwestern University was established here in 1873, and the railroad arrived in 1878.
The present Williamson County Courthouse was completed in 1911. It is the fifth courthouse the county has used, designed by Charles H. Page and Brother of Austin. The city's electric utility also dates to 1911. A destructive flood in 1921 led to the dam on the North San Gabriel, and Lake Georgetown officially opened on October 5, 1979.
Homes and housing in Georgetown
Georgetown has housing from almost every decade since the 1880s. Old Town, around the square and the university, has Victorian houses, bungalows and cottages on gridded streets with mature trees. Two parts of it, Belford and University Avenue/Elm Street, are National Register historic districts, and the courthouse square is a third.
Farther out the housing is mostly subdivision homes. Berry Creek was built around a golf course. Sun City has been building on the northwest side since the site was chosen in 1995. The newest construction is in master-planned communities west and south of town, including Wolf Ranch at SH 29 and I-35.
Lot types change with the ground. West of I-35 expect limestone, slopes and oak trees. East of I-35 lots are flatter. Outside the city limits you will also find acreage tracts in the extraterritorial jurisdiction, where city zoning does not apply and the county, not the city, provides law enforcement and road maintenance.
Neighborhoods and subdivisions
Old Town and Downtown each have a city historic overlay. Sun City Texas is an age-restricted community inside the city limits. Under its own rules, at least one resident of a home must be 55 or older. It has three golf courses: Legacy Hills, White Wing and Cowan Creek.
Berry Creek sits between Airport Road and Shell Road near SH 195, around Berry Creek Country Club. Georgetown Village is near Shell Road and Williams Drive and has a city public improvement district. Wolf Ranch, a Hillwood community at SH 29 and I-35, has its own Georgetown ISD elementary school.
On the edges, Teravista runs along the Round Rock side. Rancho Sienna sits at SH 29 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard with a Georgetown address and Liberty Hill ISD schools. Santa Rita Ranch has a Liberty Hill address and is split between Georgetown ISD and Liberty Hill ISD. Several of these are in the extraterritorial jurisdiction or a utility district, so confirm each one by address.
Schools
Most of Georgetown is in Georgetown ISD. The district lists eleven elementary schools, four middle schools and three high schools, along with alternative campuses. The high schools are Georgetown High School, East View High School and Richarte High School. The middle schools are Benold, Forbes, Tippit and George Wagner. District offices are at 507 E. University Avenue.
District lines do not follow the city limits or the mailing address. Leander ISD covers part of Georgetown and has Parkside Elementary on Garner Park Drive. Liberty Hill ISD serves Rancho Sienna and much of Santa Rita Ranch. Check the exact address with the district before you write an offer.
Southwestern University is a private four-year liberal arts school east of the square. It traces its charter to 1840, through the earliest of four colleges that merged to form it, and it has been in Georgetown since 1873. Divine Savior Academy is a private school at Santa Rita Ranch that runs from preschool through high school.
- Georgetown High School
- High school, Georgetown ISD
- East View High School
- High school, Georgetown ISD
- Richarte High School
- High school campus, Georgetown ISD
- Benold Middle School
- Middle school, Georgetown ISD
- Forbes Middle School
- Middle school, Georgetown ISD
- Tippit Middle School
- Middle school, Georgetown ISD
- George Wagner Middle School
- Middle school, Georgetown ISD
- Georgetown ISD elementary schools
- Carver, Cooper, Ford, Frost, McCoy, Mitchell, Purl, San Gabriel, Village, Williams and Wolf Ranch
- Parkside Elementary
- Elementary school in Georgetown, Leander ISD
- Rancho Sienna Elementary
- Elementary school in Georgetown, Liberty Hill ISD
- Divine Savior Academy
- Private school at Santa Rita Ranch, preschool through high school
- Southwestern University
- Private four-year liberal arts university, in Georgetown since 1873
Parks, lakes and the outdoors
The San Gabriel River is the backbone of the park system. San Gabriel Park has old oaks, ball fields, a loop trail and a skate park. Blue Hole Park, a few blocks from the square, is a natural swimming spot on the South San Gabriel. City trails connect the two and run west to Booty's Road Park.
Lake Georgetown is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lake on the North San Gabriel. Cedar Breaks, Jim Hogg and Russell parks have boat ramps, and the Corps runs camping, picnic areas and a swim beach. A hiking trail of about 26 miles circles the lake.
Garey Park, on RM 2243, is a former ranch on the South San Gabriel given to the city by Jack and Cammy Garey. It charges an entrance fee. Williamson County runs Berry Springs Park and Preserve, which is bordered by Berry Creek and Dry Berry Creek.
- San Gabriel Park
- 445 E. Morrow St. Loop trail, disc golf, skate park, splash pad, fishing
- Blue Hole Park
- Natural water swimming on the South San Gabriel, with trail access
- Garey Park
- 6450 RM 2243. Playground, splash pad, dog park, equestrian arena, more than seven miles of trails
- Lake Georgetown
- Corps of Engineers lake. Cedar Breaks, Jim Hogg and Russell parks have boat ramps
- Goodwater Trail
- About 26 miles around Lake Georgetown, with trailheads at the Corps parks
- Randy Morrow Trail
- City trail of about 5 miles from San Gabriel Park to Booty's Road Park
- Berry Springs Park and Preserve
- Williamson County park on Berry Creek with trails, fishing and camping
Things to do, shopping and dining
Most of what people do in Georgetown starts on the square. The blocks around the courthouse hold shops, restaurants, the Palace Theatre and the Georgetown Art Center, in buildings that date to the 1890s and early 1900s. The city promotes it as the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas. The public library is a few blocks west on 8th Street.
Inner Space Cavern is on the south side of town along I-35. A Texas Highway Department crew found the cave in 1963 while drilling for an overpass, and it opened for tours in 1966. Golfers have Berry Creek Country Club, Georgetown Country Club, Cimarron Hills and the Sun City courses. The city recreation center has an indoor pool, gyms and a walking track.
Annual events
The Red Poppy Festival is the city's signature event. It fills the square for three days each April with a parade, a car show, vendors and free concerts. The poppies trace back to seed sent home from Europe after World War I. The city says Georgetown was certified the Red Poppy Capital of Texas by the Legislature.
In December the Downtown Georgetown Association puts on the Christmas Stroll, a free weekend festival with a Saturday morning parade. The same group runs Market Days on the square on the second Saturday of the month for most of the year, with craft, food and farm vendors.
- Red Poppy Festival
- Late April on the square
- Christmas Stroll
- First weekend of December downtown. The 2024 Stroll was the 43rd annual
- Market Days
- Second Saturday of the month on the square, hosted by the Downtown Georgetown Association
Employers and the local economy
Government and schools are the largest local employers. Williamson County runs its offices and courts from Georgetown, and Georgetown ISD and the City of Georgetown follow close behind. Southwestern University adds faculty and staff jobs near the center of town, and the city owns and staffs its own electric and water utilities.
Health care is the other big piece. St. David's Georgetown Hospital, on Scenic Drive, has a 24-hour emergency department, and Baylor Scott and White runs clinics in town. Many people who live here drive to jobs in Round Rock and Austin, which is why the I-35 and SH 130 corridors matter so much to buyers.
Getting around
I-35 runs north and south through the middle of town. SH 130, a toll road, passes the east side and gives a second route south around Austin. SH 29 is the main east and west road, toward Liberty Hill one way and Taylor the other. SH 195 leaves the north side toward Killeen and Fort Cavazos.
By road it is about 10 miles to Round Rock, about 28 miles to downtown Austin, about 23 miles to Salado, about 32 miles to Belton and about 40 miles to Temple or Killeen. Waco is about 74 miles north. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is about 35 miles away.
Georgetown Executive Airport at Johnny Gantt Field is a city-owned field for general and corporate aviation. It has operated since 1945, has a runway of about 5,000 feet, and offers fuel and aircraft maintenance. It has no airline service, so commercial flights mean the drive to Austin-Bergstrom.
Utilities and practical details
Electricity depends on the address. The City of Georgetown has run its own electric system since 1911 and serves most of the city. In that territory the city is your provider, so you do not shop for a retail plan. Other parts of the area are served by Oncor or by Pedernales Electric Cooperative. The city posts a service map.
The city also provides water, wastewater, garbage and recycling inside the limits. Its water system reaches well beyond the city into rural Williamson, Bell and Burnet counties. The city sets a lawn watering schedule by street address.
For electric, water or trash questions, city utility customer care is 512-930-3640. The Georgetown Public Library is at 402 W. 8th Street, west of the square. St. David's Georgetown Hospital, at 2000 Scenic Drive, has a 24-hour emergency department. The airport terminal is at 500 Terminal Drive.
Buying and selling in Georgetown
Bruce Burgess is a Temple native who has held a Texas real estate license since 1991 and has owned Champion Realty, in Belton, since 2007. These are the things he would have you check in Georgetown.
Before you buy
- School district lines do not follow the city limits or the mailing address: a Georgetown address can be in Georgetown ISD, Leander ISD or Liberty Hill ISD, so confirm the district and the zoned campuses by address.
- Many newer communities are in a municipal utility district or a public improvement district, which adds a separate tax or assessment to the bill, so ask for the district name and the current notice to purchasers.
- Find out who provides electricity and water at the address, because the City of Georgetown, Oncor and Pedernales Electric Cooperative all serve parts of the area and the city is selling its water territory outside the city and its extraterritorial jurisdiction.
- The San Gabriel River flooded on July 5, 2025 and damaged San Gabriel Park, Blue Hole Park and nearby streets, so check the FEMA flood map and the flood history for any lot near the river forks or Berry Creek.
- West Georgetown sits on karst limestone over the Edwards Aquifer, where the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality must approve plans before construction on the recharge, transition or contributing zones, which matters if you plan to build or add on.
Before you sell
- A house in the Old Town or Downtown historic overlay needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city for exterior projects, so gather past approvals before you list.
- Buyers will ask which school district, which electric provider and whether there is a MUD or PID, so have a recent tax statement and utility bills ready.
- If the home is in Sun City Texas, give buyers the community's age restriction and association documents up front, because the rules decide who can live in the home.
- After the July 2025 flood, buyers near the San Gabriel ask about water, so have your elevation certificate or flood insurance history on hand if you have one.
