General Adam Rankin Johnson founded Marble Falls in 1887 along the Colorado River. The city received its name due to the water that flowed over the marble shelves in the river. Just ten years after its founding, Marble Falls was bustling with a railroad line to Austin, a post office, tannery, shoe factory, hotel, a newspaper, and three general stores. In 1951, construction of Starcke Dam was completed, which created what is now Lake Marble Falls. This completed General Johnson’s original vision of using the river as a source of power.