Editing Williamson County, Texas (section)

==History==

===Prehistoric===
[[File:Clovis Point.jpg|thumb|right|This [[Clovis point]] is from a period of habitation of about 11,200 years ago.]]
Much of Williamson County has been the site of human habitation for at least 11,200 years. The earliest known inhabitants of the area lived during the late [[Pleistocene]] (Ice Age), and are linked to the [[Clovis culture]] around 9,200 BC based on evidence found at Bell County's much-studied Gault Site.<ref>{{cite web|title=Handbook of Texas Online, "Gault Site" entry |url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bbgya |access-date=July 18, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710065631/http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/bbgya |archive-date=July 10, 2011  |date=June 15, 2010}}</ref>  One of the most important discoveries in recent times is the ancient skeletal remains dubbed the "Leanderthal Lady" because of its age and proximity to [[Leander, Texas]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Round Rock Texas |last=Thompson |first=Karen R. |author2=Jane H. Digesualado  |publisher=Nortex Press (Eakin Publications) |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=<!--none -->|pages=4, 7 }}</ref> It was discovered by accident by the [[Texas Department of Transportation]] workers while drilling core samples for a new highway. The site has been extensively studied for many years, and samples from this site carbon date to the Pleistocene period around 10,500 years ago. Prehistoric and [[Archaic period in the Americas|Archaic]] "open occupation" campsites are also found throughout the county along streams and other water sources, including [[Brushy Creek (San Gabriel River tributary)|Brushy Creek]] in Round Rock and the [[San Gabriel River (Texas)|San Gabriel River]] in Georgetown. Such evidence of Archaic-period inhabitants is often in the form of relics and flint tools recovered from burned rock middens. Many such sites were inundated when the San Gabriel River was dammed to create Lake Granger.<ref name="tshaonline2">{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcw11|title=WILLIAMSON COUNTY|first=ODINTZ|last=MARK|date=June 15, 2010|website=tshaonline.org|access-date=May 9, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180509195701/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hcw11|archive-date=May 9, 2018}}</ref>

The earliest known historical Native American occupants, the [[Tonkawa]], were a flint-working, hunting people who followed the [[American bison|buffalo]] on foot and periodically set fire to the prairie to aid them in their hunts. During the 18th century, they made the transition to a horse culture and used firearms to a limited extent. After they were crowded out by white settlement, the [[Comanches]] continued to raid settlements in the county until the 1860s. Also, small numbers of [[Kiowa]], Yojuane, [[Tawakoni]], and Mayeye Indians apparently were living in the county at the time of the earliest Anglo settlements.<ref name="tshaonline2"/>

===Thrall flood===
On September 9 and 10, 1921, the remnants of a hurricane moved over Williamson County. The center of the storm became stationary over [[Thrall, Texas|Thrall]], a small farming town in eastern Williamson County, dropping a storm total of {{convert|39.7|in|mm|abbr=on}} of rain in 36 hours.<ref>{{cite web|title=Significant Weather Events of the 1900s |url=http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/wxevent/1997to1999/cen/1900s.htm |publisher=[[National Weather Service]] |access-date=March 22, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080515223135/http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ewx/html/wxevent/1997to1999/cen/1900s.htm |archive-date=May 15, 2008 }}</ref> The 24-hour rainfall total ending 7 am on September 10, 1921 ({{convert|38.2|in|mm|abbr=on}}) at a U.S. Weather Bureau station in Thrall remains the national official 24-hour rainfall record. Thrall's rainfall was {{convert|23.4|in|mm|abbr=on}} during 6 hours, {{convert|31.8|in|mm|abbr=on}} during 12 hours, and {{convert|36.4|in|mm|abbr=on}} during 18 hours.<ref name="usgs">{{cite web|title=Major and Catastrophic Storms and Floods in Texas|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/ofr03-193/cd_files/USGS_Storms/patton.htm|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|access-date=March 22, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090511014322/http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/ofr03-193/cd_files/USGS_Storms/patton.htm|archive-date=May 11, 2009}}</ref> Eighty-seven people drowned in and near Taylor, and 93 in Williamson County. This storm caused the most deadly floods in Texas, with a total of 215 fatalities.

===1997 tornado outbreak===
On May 27, 1997, Williamson County was hit by the worst tornado outbreak in county history. The [[1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak]] caused 20 tornadoes including an F-5 (the strongest rating used for tornadoes on the [[Fujita scale]]), which remains the only F-5 to strike Williamson County. The F-5 tornado killed 27 people and completely destroyed the Double Creek Estates neighborhood in the city of [[Jarrell, Texas]], located in far northern Williamson County. Another strong tornado, an F-3, struck [[Cedar Park, Texas|Cedar Park]], killing one person. Two F-2 tornadoes also struck Williamson County. The outbreak cost the county over $190 million in damages and a total of 30 fatalities.<ref>{{Cite web|last=US Department of Commerce|first=NOAA|title=May 1997 Tornado Outbreak|url=https://www.weather.gov/ewx/wxevent-19970527|access-date=September 10, 2020|website=www.weather.gov|language=EN-US}}</ref>

===Modern growth===
Williamson County's fast growth rate is due in large part to its location immediately north of [[Austin, Texas|Austin]] coupled with Austin's rapid expansion northward; Austin's city limits cross into Williamson County. Most of the growth has been residential, but large employers, such as [[Dell]]'s international headquarters, have also changed Williamson County from a bedroom community into a community where citizens can live and work in the same general vicinity. This has transformed the county over recent years into a dynamic, self-sustaining community with less dependency on Austin. Major retail and commercial developments began appearing from 1999 to present, including the Rivery in Georgetown, and the [[Premium Outlets|Premium Outlet Mall]], the [[IKEA]]-area retail, and the [[La Frontera (Round Rock, Texas)|La Frontera]] mixed-use center in Round Rock. Health care and higher education have also become major factors in the county's growth. Two new colleges and two new hospitals have opened since 2015. Another significant factor has been the opening of the North [[Loop 1]] and [[Texas State Highway 45]] toll roads, which have made Williamson County more accessible to Austin.