 Austin was planned on a 640-acre site on a bluff above the Colorado River, nestled between Shoal Creek (West Avenue) to the west and Waller Creek (East Avenue) to the east Edwin Waller in 1839.The story of the settlement of Old West Austin begins with the oldest and best-known home in the area, Woodlawn.James B. Shaw, an Irish immigrant who served as State Comptroller in Texas Governor Elisha M. Pease's administration, purchased several hundred acres of land west of Austin in 1846.