Georgetown, Texas map
30.63° N · 97.68° W · Williamson County seat · elev. ~750 ft · Central Time
Georgetown is the seat of Williamson County and the northern end of the Austin metro along I-35. Its 1911 courthouse stands in the middle of a square of Victorian limestone storefronts, and in the early 2020s the U.S. Census Bureau named Georgetown the fastest-growing city in the country among places with more than 50,000 residents, three years running.
Centered on the courthouse square. The two forks of the San Gabriel River meet just northeast; Lake Georgetown is off the frame to the west.
Where Georgetown is
Georgetown sits 26 miles north of Austin and 10 miles north of Round Rock on I-35, at the point where the interstate leaves the built-up metro and starts north toward Salado, Temple and Waco. It is on the Balcones Escarpment: the western half of the city climbs into limestone hills and the eastern half runs out onto blackland farm country toward Hutto and Taylor.
Williamson County was organised in 1848 and named for Robert McAlpin Williamson, a veteran of San Jacinto. It covers 1,132 square miles and grew to 609,017 residents by 2020, which makes it one of the largest suburban counties in the state. Bell County is north, Travis County south, Milam County northeast, Bastrop and Lee counties southeast and Burnet County west.
The courthouse square
The square is the reason Georgetown looks unlike its neighbours on I-35. The Williamson County Courthouse, completed in 1911, sits at the centre, and the four sides around it kept their nineteenth-century commercial fronts through the decades when most Texas towns replaced or covered theirs. The Williamson County Courthouse Historic District and the residential districts around it carry a large share of the city's listed buildings.
Southwestern University stands a few blocks east of the square on University Avenue. It traces its charter to 1840 and describes itself as the oldest university in Texas; it is a small liberal arts college, not a research campus, and its limestone buildings form the eastern anchor of the old town. West of downtown, Sun City Texas — a large Del Webb age-restricted community opened in 1995 off Williams Drive — accounts for a substantial share of the city's population on its own.
Highways
- I-35 – south to Round Rock and Austin; north to Jarrell, Salado, Temple and Waco.
- SH-29 – west to Liberty Hill and Burnet; east to Granger and Taylor, crossing I-35 south of the square.
- SH-130 (toll) – begins at I-35 north of Georgetown and runs southeast as the bypass around the east side of Austin.
- SH-195 – northwest to Florence and Killeen, connecting to US-190 and Fort Hood.
- RM-2243 (Leander Road) – southwest to Leander and US-183.
- Williams Drive / RM-2338 – northwest past Sun City toward Lake Georgetown and Andice.
- FM-971 – northeast toward Granger and Granger Lake.
Lake Georgetown and the San Gabriel
The North and South forks of the San Gabriel River meet in San Gabriel Park just northeast of downtown, and the Blue Hole, a limestone swimming spot on the South Fork, is a few hundred yards upstream of the confluence. Lake Georgetown is an Army Corps of Engineers reservoir on the North Fork about five miles northwest of the square, built for flood control and water supply. The Good Water Trail runs roughly 26 miles around it, and Cedar Breaks, Russell and Jim Hogg parks are the main access points.
Inner Space Cavern, a limestone cave found by a highway crew drilling for the I-35 roadbed in 1963, sits on the frontage road just south of the city.
Neighborhoods and districts
| Area | What's there |
|---|---|
| The Square | 1911 courthouse, Victorian storefronts, Austin Avenue through downtown |
| Old Town | Historic residential district south and west of the square |
| Southwestern University | Campus east of downtown on University Avenue |
| Sun City Texas | Age-restricted community west of town off Williams Drive |
| San Gabriel Park / Blue Hole | River confluence, swimming hole, trails northeast of downtown |
| Wolf Ranch | Shopping and newer housing at I-35 and SH-29 west |
| Berry Creek | North side golf-course neighborhood off I-35 |
| Cedar Breaks / Lake Georgetown | Corps parks and shoreline trail northwest of the city |
| Airport / Industrial Park | Georgetown Municipal Airport and business park on the north side |
Distances from Georgetown
| City | Road miles | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Round Rock | 10 | I-35 S |
| Austin | 26 | I-35 S |
| Killeen | 35 | SH-195 NW |
| Temple | 40 | I-35 N |
| San Marcos | 55 | I-35 S |
| Waco | 75 | I-35 N |
| San Antonio | 105 | I-35 S |