Smithville, Texas
Smithville is a city in Bastrop County, on the Colorado River in the wooded, rolling country of Central Texas about 39 miles southeast of Austin. The town is well known as a filming location, having served as the setting for movies including Hope Floats, and it maintains a historic downtown and residential district near the river. Its position along the Colorado River and at the edge of the Lost Pines woodlands gives the area a mix of river bottomland and pine forest.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 4,367
- Change from 2020 base
- +8.4%
- Land area
- 4.1 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Bastrop County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Bastrop County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
County context
What to know around Smithville
County lines carry much of the property, land, water, and outdoors context around Smithville.
History
The Man Behind the Name: Baron de Bastrop
Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, a Dutch man who called himself Baron de Bastrop and helped Stephen F. Austin secure land grants from Mexico.
Property tax
Homestead Exemption Cuts Your School Tax Bill
A qualifying Bastrop County residence homestead gets a $140,000 school-district exemption; Bastrop CAD decides eligibility and handles the application.
History
CCC Craftsmen Built Bastrop State Park in the 1930s
At Bastrop State Park, the cabins and refectory still show what Civilian Conservation Corps crews could make from local stone and timber.
Nearby
Places near Smithville
Nearby counties
Local notes for nearby counties
Next steps for Smithville
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