The area was initially settled by German immigrant Henry Pfluger Sr. (1803–1867) and members of his family from late 1849 into early 1850.

[7] He arrived in the country with $1,600 and purchased 160 acres (0.65 km2) of land two miles (3 km) east of Austin from John Liese, a brother-in-law who had immigrated before him.

[8] There, the family lived in a five-room log cabin and raised corn, wheat, rye, beans, sweet potatoes, and sugar cane.

Two local organizations, the German-American Mutual Assistance Foundation, to insure residents against natural disasters; and "Pflugerville Schuetzen und Kegel Verein," a shooting and bowling club, were started.

[11] The population reached approximately 250 during the mid-1890s, and a small downtown developed, although most residents did their banking and shipping in Round Rock, eight miles (13 km) to the northwest.

On June 8, 1906, the Farmers State Bank of Pflugerville opened with William Pfluger as its president and A.W.

The first issues of the Pflugerville Press, a weekly newspaper, began publishing on August 7, 1907 and operated through October 29, 1942.

In 1910, black workers who worked in the Pflugerville cotton industry were not allowed to move into the town.

Pfluger built the Sky Dome Theater, which showed motion pictures to the accompaniment of a player piano on Friday and Saturday nights.

The arrival of the Great Depression halted what had been a lengthy period of growth in Pflugerville.

In the years immediately after World War II, the community lost around a quarter of its population as citizens moved to Austin and other larger cities with greater employment opportunities.

[13] Despite the challenges of population loss and limited economic development, Pflugerville managed to survive.

The community gained national attention when the Pflugerville Panthers won 55 consecutive football games from 1958 to 1962.

[20][21] Pflugerville is 14 miles (23 km) northeast of downtown Austin along FM 1825 (Pecan Street) in northern Travis County.

According to the 2010 United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of 22.32 square miles.

A local school group, Wilbarger Water Watchers, in association with the LCRA, monitors the waters of Wilbarger Creek to ensure it meets the United States Environmental Protection Agency's national standard.

One such development, Stone Hill Town Center, has opened, and includes retailers, a movie theater and a St. David's HealthCare 24-hour emergency care facility.

[29][30][31][32] With its close proximity to the Austin Executive Airport and SH 130, the connectivity of the area is attracting businesses and bringing jobs to Pflugerville.

PCDC has helped to develop the 130 Commerce Center, at the corner of State Highway 130 and Pecan (FM 1825), an office park with FedEx, TrackingPoint, Community Impact Newspaper, and D-bats, as well as two hotels and a conference center anticipated in 2016.

[35] On August 6, 2013, the city agreed on a development deal with Harvest Family Entertainment to build the sixth and largest Hawaiian Falls water park just south of the intersection of State Highway 130 and State Highway 45 across from Stone Hill Town Center.

[41] The city began negotiations with Typhoon Texas to take over the water park lease.

[44] In partnership, the City Council signed an agreement in which Amazon agrees to invest $250M and create 1,000 fulltime jobs and the Pflugerville Community Development Corporation will use money earmarked for economic development to make additional roadway and intersection improvements along FM 1825/Pecan St to support the project.

Many of the parks offer a full range of amenities from pavilions, gazebos and playgrounds to pools and picnic areas.

Pfluger Park is along Gilleland Creek and is the site of the city's annual German festival, the Deutschen Pfest, held the third weekend in October.

Lake Pflugerville Park includes a three-mile walking/jogging trail, playground, boat launch, pavilion and beach area.

Amenities include restrooms, playgrounds, group shelters, picnic tables with grills, concession building for rent, and a water play area.

[51] Typhoon Texas has celebrated more than 3 seasons in Pflugerville and recently opened a new restaurant, The Patio entertainment venue.

[52] In 2015, the city purchased a 237-acre (96 ha) tract of land for a community park with a new sports complex and nature areas for $4.276 million.

Based on the Parks and Open Space Master Plan, the emerged theme was trails as a true amenity in the city.

[55] The district encompasses all or part of six municipalities, including Pflugerville, Austin, Coupland, Hutto, Manor and Round Rock.