Sam Marcos, Texas (unnamed copywriting)

San Marcos, Texas can not only boast that is the oldest human settlement in Texas, but also that it is argued to be as old as the oldest human settlement in the northern hemisphere. This town, a substantial suburb of Austin, has been teeming with life for over 10,000 years.

Archaeologists have found proof of the existence of the Cloivis culture, a prehistoric Paleolithic Indian culture first appearing directly after the Ice Age, throughout the area of San Marcos. Among the archaeological sites found in the area has been proof of continued human habitation ever since.

In 1689, a group of Spaniards exploring the area reached the river at San Marcos after traveling for months from Mexico. Their journey had been a trying one, and upon reaching the river, they stopped for a much-needed break. The day that they happened to reach the river was April 25, also known as the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist. For this reason, the Spaniards named the river the San Marcos.

The first modern village on the location was created in the year 1808 when a small group of Mexican farmers settled at the river crossing and built homes. The village was short-lived, however, as the farmers were continually plagued by flood and Indian attack. In 1812, the settlers abandoned the village.

The area remained vacant until 1846 when the first Anglo settlers inhabited it. A small town was created around the springs of the San Marcos River, and for the next two years it slowly grew. In mid-1848, the Texas Legislature created a new county, named Hayes. They designated San Marcos as the county seat, and set the borders of Hayes County so that San Marcos would be close to the center.

The town became a business center. It was active in milling, ginning, and was an active market for agricultural products. The river was later dammed, and the waterpower was used to create even more mills. The businesses were, in and of themselves, enough to continually attract new settlers to the area, but the added help that came from the addition of the International-Great Northern Railroad line to the city made the population grow at a very rapid pace.

A university was opened here in 1899, focusing on the education of new teachers. The university steadily grew and expanded its breadth. It has gone through a few different incarnations, but has continually grown. The university is still there, now known as Texas State University, and boasts a student body consisting of over 28,000 people.

During World War II, the city attracted men from many neighboring towns, due to its production jobs. Most of the businesses in the area were converted to help with the war effort, and as a result, job creation skyrocketed, and with it so did the town's population.

In the 1960s, two popular tourist attractions were opened in the city. Aquarena Springs and Wonder World caused tourism to become a major part of San Marcos' thriving economy. The population continued to grow throughout the 60s, and when neighboring Austin experienced a large population growth of its own, San Marcos started growing even faster as a result. Since the late 70s, the town has continued to see steady growth, and as of the last census, it could boast over 35,000 residents.