Region: Hill Country
The city was formally established on April 1, 1881, when Cornelia Trimble donated land for a town site at an International-Great Northland Railroad depot there. The area had earlier been settled as part of a Mexican land grant. Common explanation for name is that it derives from the Spanish word, viuda, meaning widow. The town had gathered a reputation as a popular eating stop for travelers (at the Carrington House) and the name may refer to a pair of widows who cooked at the establishment in the late 1800s. Only 17 miles from Austin on I-35, the town's growth has paralleled Austin's growth since the 1980s. Many original buildings along Main St. now house antique shops, restaurants and boutiques.
The Outdoor Capital of Texas recently opened the 52-acre Buda Sportsplex park. This project is owned by the City of Buda and features a lengthy trail system, a fishing pond, playground and xeriscape. 512/312-0084.
Buda's 51-acre Historic Stagecoach Park off Main Street features a large, ADA-compliant trail system with tagged native plants along the trail. At the entrance to the park is the 1880 Stagecoach House, which was a stop between Austin and San Antonio. Behind that, the 1876 Onion Creek Post Office, the first post office in Hays County. Nearby is land where LBJ's family lived prior to moving to Stonewall. Also includes a fishing pond, overlooks, amphitheater, memorial garden and informational kiosks.
Town features an 185,000-sq. ft. outdoors superstore Cabela's, which features museum-quality dioramas and a 12,000-sq. ft. trophy deer museum, 60,000-gallon aquarium and hundres of wild game trophies displayed in its showroom. Also home to Jardine Foods where visitors can see food production for authentic Texas recipes like barbecue sauce, salsa and jalapeño jelly.