 In the downtown area, the wooden wagon yards and saloons of the 1850s and 1860s began to be replaced by the more solid masonry structures still standing today.On December 25, 1871, a new era opened with the coming of the Houston and Texas Central Railway, Austin's first railroad connection.By becoming the westernmost railroad terminus in Texas and the only railroad town for scores of miles in most directions, Austin was transformed into a trading center for a vast area.