| Jollyville, Texas sits on the border of Williamson and | | | | Jollyville had actually become a suburb of the city and |
| Travis counties. This small Austin suburb had a humble | | | | began its rapid growth. By the most recent census |
| beginning and maintained its status as a very small | | | | count, the city had grown to a population of almost |
| community for the majority of its life. | | | | 16,000 people. |
| Initially the town was founded by a man named | | | | Like most areas of Austin, the quaint community of |
| Henry Rhodes after he obtained a land-grant for | | | | Jollyville has enjoyed a steady level of home prices |
| 1000 acres from the Republic of Texas in 1841. He | | | | and median income. Unlike the rest of the nation, |
| created the town as a small settlement with no | | | | Austin and the surrounding communities have been |
| name and as a result it ended up being named after | | | | largely unaffected by the housing crisis and the |
| a later inhabitant. In 1866 a man named John Grady | | | | recession. However, Jollyville has seen a slightly larger |
| Jolly and his wife Isabel purchased 160 acres from | | | | decrease than most of Austin's other suburbs. This is |
| Henry Rhodes and opened a small blacksmith shop | | | | mainly due to the fact that there are not as many |
| and general store. They made a life there, and later | | | | home sales in the Jollyville area as competing areas. |
| donated their land to the community for school and a | | | | However, compared to the rest of the nation, |
| graveyard. The couple were buried there and | | | | Jollyville has still performed much better. Last year, |
| remained there to this day. The town, Jollyville, was | | | | median income for a household in Jollyville was |
| named in their honor. | | | | $66,000, roughly $20,000 higher than national |
| Jollyville itself remained a very small community all the | | | | average. The median home price is $185,000, roughly |
| way until the 1970s. In fact, in the 1960s the census | | | | $40,000 higher than that of the rest of the nation. |
| revealed that there were no more than 20 families | | | | Unlike some of the more trendy areas of Austin and |
| living there. However, like so many other small | | | | its surrounding suburbs, Jollyville does not have a high |
| communities in Williamson County, Jollyville was | | | | level of home transfers. Most homes in the area are |
| greatly affected by the rapid growth of neighboring | | | | occupied by the same people who originally |
| Austin. By the 1970s Austin had grown so large that | | | | purchased them. |