• The state legislature named Elgin the sausage capital of Texas.sausages image by Tomasz Wojnarowicz from Fotolia.com
  
  Elgin, Texas, is19 miles from Austin and owes its existence to the railroad builders of the 19th century. The Houston and Texas Central Railroad Company built the town in 1872 and many of its earliest buildings still survive. Cotton and brick manufacturing contributed to the town's prosperity. Today, its claim to fame is sausage-making, with three sausage factories and a resolution from the State of Texas House of Representatives to prove it.
  
  

Elgin Depot Museum

• The Elgin Depot Museum tells the story of the town's early history and the contributions of the railroads, agriculture and entrepreneurs. The museum, in an award-winning restoration of the Union Depot, also has a series of changing exhibitions.
  
  Though the Union Pacific Railroad operates trains on the nearby tracks, the depot was actually named for the union of the Southern Pacific and Missouri, Kansas and Texas (known as "Katy") railroads, which both used. The two railroads made Elgin a major transportation crossroad in the Southwest. The museum, run by the local historical society, is open Tuesday to Sunday, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  
  Elgin Depot Museum
  
  Elgin Historical Association
  
  P.O. Box 1234
  
  Elgin, TX 78621
  
  512-285-2000
  
  elgintxchamber.com
  
  

Historic Downtown District

• Elgin's Commercial Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Within the 14-square-block area, 67 buildings, dating from 1872 to 1947, have been singled out for their architectural integrity. The oldest building, the H & TC Freight Depot built in 1872, now houses the Chamber of Commerce. The restored 1906 Nofsinger house, one of several elegant old homes in the city, is now the Elgin City Hall. In all, about $9 million has been invested by public and private interests to restore the historic downtown area. A walking tour featured on the city's website includes historic murals, banks, pharmacies, barber shops and homes.
  
  City of Elgin Community Development
  
  310 N. Main St.
  
  Elgin, TX 78621
  
  512-281-5724
  
  elgintx.com
  
  

Hogeye Festival

• The annual Hogeye Festival in October is a free, family-oriented, small town celebration with live music, an arts and craft market, plenty of sausage eating, a BBQ cookoff , the crowning of the King Hog or Queen "Sowpreme," plus a costumed pet parade and lots of games and events. Proceeds support the continuing restoration of Elgin's historic downtown.
  
  Despite all the pig punning, sausages and pork barbecue on offer, the festival actually takes its name from a neighboring community two miles south. The village of Perryville, where many of Elgin's first settlers originated, was sometimes called Hogeye. According to legend, it was the name of the only song the fiddler could play at the local community dances.
  
  Hogeye Festival
  
  Elgin Main Street Board
  
  310 N. Main St.
  
  P.O. Box 591
  
  Elgin, TX 78621
  
  512-281-5724
  
  elgintx.com