Buda's Brightside

06/17/2026

06/17/2026

Always buy local

06/17/2026

It’s the best ever!

Watch, follow, and discover more trending content.

06/17/2026

Gotta go try it!

06/17/2026

You’ve got to go here!

06/17/2026

Yummy!

06/17/2026

Another place to visit this summer

06/17/2026

Somewhere to visit soon!

06/17/2026

The town south of Austin has one of the strangest name stories in all of Texas. And nobody can fully agree on how it happened.
It started in 1880 when a postmaster from a nearby community walked up to a railroad official and reportedly said "Do, pray, give us a depot." The railroad wrote down what they heard. The town became Du Pre.
Six years later the post office discovered there was already another Du Pre in Texas and demanded a name change. What came next depends on who you ask.
Some say it comes from the Spanish word viuda, meaning widow, because two widows ran the kitchen at the local hotel and became so beloved by railroad travelers that the whole town was named in their honor. Others say it is a nod to Budapest, Hungary, brought over by immigrants who settled the area. Nobody knows for certain. The mystery has never been fully solved.
What everybody does know is that in 1881 a woman named Cornelia Trimble donated the land for the townsite, and what grew up around that railroad stop became one of the most charming small towns in Hays County. Today Buda sits just seventeen miles south of Austin and is one of the fastest growing cities in Central Texas.
It was almost called "Do Pray." Instead it got a name nobody can explain. And it is still going strong.