 Between 1842 and 1845 its population dropped below 200 and its buildings deteriorated.During the summer of 1845, Anson Jones, Houston's successor as president, called a constitutional convention meeting in Austin, approved the annexation of Texas to the United States and named Austin the state capital until 1850, at which time the voters of Texas were to express their preference in a general election.After resuming its role as the seat of government in 1845, Austin officially became the state capital on February 19, 1846, the date of the formal transfer of authority from the republic to the state.