Leander (/liˈændər/ lee-AN-dər) is a city in Williamson and Travis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 26,521 at the 2010 census,^[3] and 56,111 at the 2018 census estimate.^[4] A suburb just north of Austin,^[5][6] and part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area, it is the fourth-fastest-growing city in the state of Texas. Leander was established in 1882 on land sold by the Austin and Northwestern Railroad Co. to prospective citizens.^[7] The town was named in honor of Leander "Catfish" Brown, one of the railroad officials responsible for the completion of the line.^[7][8] In 1836, a company of Texas Rangers, including John J. Tumlinson Jr. established Tumlinson Fort, the first Anglo-American post in Williamson County. The post was located on Brushy Creek, four miles south of present-day Leander, and was established to protect settlers from Indian attacks. The company abandoned the post to fight in the Texas Revolution, and a few years later it was discovered, burned down by Indians.^[9] It was near Leander that the Leanderthal Lady, a skeleton dating back 10,000 to 13,000 years, was discovered; the site was one of the earliest intact burials found in the United States.^[10] In August and September 2011, destructive wildfires swept through two central Leander neighborhoods, burning a total of 330 acres (130 ha) and destroying 26 homes.