Buda started as 'Du Pre' and may be named for a pair of widows

On April 1, 1881, Cornelia Trimble donated land for a townsite at a new International-Great Northern Railroad depot. People and businesses from nearby Mountain City moved toward the tracks. Like many Central Texas towns, Buda grew because the railroad picked the winning spot.

The town first used the name Du Pre. In 1887, the post office asked for a new name, and it became Buda. The likely story is local and small: the name may come from the Spanish word viuda, meaning widow, for two widows who cooked for travelers at the Carrington Hotel.

Put Buda beside Kyle and San Marcos and the corridor makes sense. Three towns grew along the same rail-and-road line that still funnels traffic toward Austin.