Texas Porch

Local Industry & History

Granite from Burnet County built the Texas State Capitol

Granite Mountain near Marble Falls in Burnet County supplied the red granite used to build the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

Burnet County History & Culture

Texas built its State Capitol in Austin in the 1880s. Workers cut the stone from Granite Mountain in Burnet County, near the town of Marble Falls. That same Burnet County granite was later used on other big projects, including the Galveston seawall. The Burnet County courthouse, finished in 1937, is also built from local granite.

Granite quarrying became one of the county's main industries. The Austin and Northwestern Railroad reached Burnet in 1882. A rail branch to Granite Mountain followed by the mid-1880s. That rail link made it easy to ship heavy stone out of the county. The quarrying work shaped both the local economy and the land. The Handbook of Texas at tshaonline.org covers this history in detail.

Source to confirm: TSHA Handbook of Texas — Burnet County

More Burnet County notes

Property Tax

Two offices handle your property tax in Burnet County

The Burnet County Appraisal District sets your home's value, but it also handles tax collection — the Tax Assessor-Collector office does not collect property taxes here.

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Homestead Exemption

How to lower your tax bill with a homestead exemption

Texas law lets you reduce the taxable value of the home you live in — file once with the Burnet County Appraisal District.

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Water & Lakes

The Highland Lakes run through the heart of Burnet County

LCRA runs a chain of six lakes on the Colorado River. Four of those lakes sit partly or fully in Burnet County.

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Septic / OSSF

Septic permits near the Highland Lakes go through LCRA

If your property is within about 2,200 feet of the upper Highland Lakes, LCRA — not the county — issues your septic system permit.

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