Austin was named for Simeon Austin, a circuit rider. Its post office was established in 1877 on the farm of Oliver S. Brown and continued until 1919. The Union Pacific Railroad arrived in 1886, and an Austin siding was built halfway between Loup City and Rockville in 1902 and removed in 1985. Though never incorporated, Austin had a store from 1906 to 1931, a church from 1907 to 1946, a blacksmith shop from 1916 to 1919, stockyards and office, a grain elevator, a corn crib, a coal bin, and several homes. Austin Irrigation operated from 1913 to 1926, and picnics and ball games were held in a nearby grove. District No. 2, the first rural school in Sherman County, was established on November 15, 1873. After 125 years of serving the Austin community, it closed in June 1998 after educating the last eligible student in the district. It was the last rural school to close in Sherman County and had stood on three different sites in three different buildings. All that remains of Austin today is the cemetery established in 1886, located one mile southeast of here.