Editing Travis County, Texas (section)

===Indigenous and Spanish periods===
{{Further|Spanish Texas}}
Evidence of habitation of the [[Balcones Escarpment]] region of Texas can be traced to at least 11,000 years ago. Two of the oldest [[Paleolithic]] archeological sites in Texas, the [[Levi Rock Shelter]] and [[Smith Rock Shelter]], are in southwest and southeast Travis County, respectively.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Hester |first1= Thomas |year= 1986 |title= The Balcones Escarpment: Early Human Populations |journal= Geological Society of America |volume= 6 |issue= 2 |pages= 55–62 |publisher= Abbott, Patrick L. and Woodruff, C. M. |url= http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/balcones_escarpment/pages55-62.html |access-date= September 6, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111012081825/http://www.lib.utexas.edu/geo/balcones_escarpment/pages55-62.html |archive-date= October 12, 2011 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Several hundred years before [[European ethnic groups|European]] settlers arrived, a variety of [[nomadic]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American tribes]] inhabited the area. These [[indigenous peoples]] fished and hunted along the creeks, including present-day [[Barton Springs]],<ref name="briefhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/briefhistory.htm|title=Austin Public Library|website=Austin Public Library|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808180745/http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/briefhistory.htm|archive-date=August 8, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> which proved to be a reliable campsite.<ref name="historycenter10">{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/faq10.htm|title=Austin Public Library|website=Austin Public Library|access-date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> At the time of the first permanent settlement of the area, the [[Tonkawa]] tribe was the most common, with the [[Comanche]]s and [[Lipan Apache people|Lipan Apaches]] also frequenting the area.<ref name="historycenter5">{{cite web|url=http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/faq5.htm|title=Austin Public Library|website=Austin Public Library|access-date=March 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011005100954/http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/library/ahc/faq5.htm|archive-date=October 5, 2001|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The region (along with all of modern Texas) was claimed by the [[Spanish Empire]] in the 1600s, but at the time no attempt was made to settle the area (or even to explore it fully).<ref>{{citation|last=Chipman|first=Donald E.|title=Spanish Texas, 1519–1821|publisher=University of Texas Press|location=Austin, Texas|year=1992|page=26|isbn=0-292-77659-4}}</ref> In 1691 [[Domingo Terán de los Ríos]] made an inspection tour through East Texas that likely took him through Travis Country. The first European settlers in the area were a group of Spanish [[friars]] who arrived from East Texas in July 1730. They established three temporary [[Mission (station)|missions]], [[Mission Concepcion|La Purísima Concepción]], [[San Francisco de los Neches]], and [[San José de los Nazonis]], on a site by the [[Colorado River (Texas)|Colorado River]] near [[Barton Springs]]. The friars found conditions undesirable and relocated to the [[San Antonio River]] within a year of their arrival.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/history/spanish-missions-texas |title= The Spanish Missions in Texas |work= Texas Almanac |publisher= [[Texas State Historical Association]] |access-date= September 10, 2011}}</ref>