Jesse Cornelius Tannehill (1797-1863) founded the original townsite of Montopolis; however, indigenous peoples had lived in and travelled through the area for thousands of years. El Camino Real de los Tejas, a historic trade route, forded the Colorado river near the present-day Montopolis bridge just east of this site. In 1839 Tannehill, his wife, Jane L. (Richardson) Tannehill (1803-1855), their children and an enslaved African American family moved to a headright of 4,428 acres on the Colorado river, from which 800 acres were surveyed for the town tract. A deed recorded on July 2, 1839, established the location of a platted town on the left (north) bank of the Colorado (this marker is located near the center of the original town tract). The ambitious settlement was named Montopolis ("mont" is Latin for "mountain" and "polis" is Greek for "city"). Several families settled in the community. James Smith (1790-1845) was likely the first settler in 1838. His 1841 home is preserved one-half mile west on Boggy Creek Farm. Tannehill began laying out Montopolis in early 1838 before Edward Burleson laid out nearby Waterloo, which was renamed Austin upon its selection as the Republic of Texas' seat of government. There is evidence that Montopolis was also in the running for this honor. The Montopolis venture died within two years of its conception. By 1841, business partnerships were dissolved and the land was sold. Proximity to the growing Capital of Austin and the growing community of Govalle contributed to the end of the original Montopolis. The name endured in the area of the original town tract into the 20th century. In 1897, after a post office named Montopolis was established on the right (south) bank of the river, the community that developed around it adopted the name. When the city of Austin annexed that community in the early 1950s, memory of the original townsite location faded, but the neighborhood of Montopolis continues to thrive as a vibrant, proud community. (2019)