Montopolis was established in 1830 as a separate community southeast of Downtown Austin in south-central Travis County when Jessie C. Tannehill built a casino and laid out a townsite to be originally called "Montopolis", for its location on top of a hill. Prior to its establishment, the area was home to the Native American Tonkowda tribe who lived along the Colorado River that was part of the El Camino Real de los Tejas. After the Civil War, the area became a freedmen's town known as "Montopolis", home to newly freed slaves who worked as sharecroppers. In the early 20th century, the neighborhood saw a large influx of Mexican immigrants. The census of 1900 listed the Montopolis population as 142, but in 1902 its post office was discontinued and mail for area residents was sent to Austin. Despite the close proximity, Austin waited until 1952 to partially annex Montopolis, and it wasn't fully annexed until the 1970s. The working-class neighborhood has long been one of the poorest in Austin, with about two of every five residents living in poverty, according to the U.S. Census. Educational attainment also lags far behind the city average — in 2000, 53 percent of Montopolis residents more than 25 years old didn't have a high school diploma. Given Austin's tremendous growth, Montopolis has experienced increased development in the 21st Century. The community is located in a strategic location in Austin — adjacent to the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and along two major highways: Texas State Highway 71 and U.S. Route 183. In 2005, the City of Austin was working on finalizing a Master Plan for the entire East Riverside Drive corridor, from the East Riverside-Oltorf Combined Planning Area to Montopolis to ABIA. An increase in development has spurred fears of gentrification. Although activists stopped a zoning change in early 2014 that would have allowed building condos instead of duplexes, the condos were approved in late 2014. As of 2015, Google announced that their Google Fiberinternet service will be available in the area.
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of the area defined as Montopolis was 6,869 in 2009, across an area of 2.555 square miles. The population density per square miles is 2,689 people per square mile, just above Austin's citywide average of 2,610 people per square mile. The racial breakdown is 61% Hispanic/Latino, 21% black, 15% white and 1% other. Median household income in 2009 in Montopolis was $28,922, below Austin's average of $50,132. The community is on average younger than the rest of the city, as the median age for males is 25.1 and for 26.4 for females. The average estimated value of detached houses in 2009 was $110,949, lower than Austin average of $286,025.
