The Hutto Hippo Legend
Every town has a story it loves to tell. Ours has a hippopotamus.
The hippopotamus has been the mascot for the City of Hutto and its school district for about a hundred years. The story of how this came to be is more legend than historical fact, but its continued telling and retelling has made the Hutto hippo a unique part of central Texas lore.
After the elephant and the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the world’s largest land animal. It is recognizable for its large, barrel-shaped torso (adult males average 3,300 lbs.), wide-opening mouth, and large tusks (the largest of any land animal). It has a nearly hairless body and short, stumpy legs.
Western civilization has long been fascinated by the wild African hippopotamus whose name comes from two ancient Greek words meaning “river horse.”
In its native environment, hippos inhabit rivers and lakes. Mating and birth both occur in the water. During the day, hippos remain cool by staying in water or mud, emerging at dusk to graze on grass. Hippos are also, due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature, among the most dangerous animals in the world. Fear the hippo!
Circus shows in central Texas, as early as the 1890s, traveled from town to town via the railroad and were much-anticipated family entertainment. African animals, such as elephants and other “menagerie animals,” including hippos, were well advertised in local newspapers. From historical records, we know that circus-train travel routes in central Texas most often went from Dallas to Austin, stopping in Waco and Temple. There is no record of a circus show ever opening in Hutto, but in 1906 and in 1917 a circus train did travel through Hutto from Taylor on its way to Austin.
Sometime before December 1937, perhaps as early as 1915, when the Hutto Schools officially adopted the hippopotamus as its mascot, a story began to circulate that a circus hippo had escaped from its freight-car cage while the train was stopped in Hutto.
In December 1837 Hutto Public Schools began using the hippo in the title of a student-published newsletter, the “Hippo Live Wire.” The newsletter continued until May 1943. Since then, spearheaded by several locals, including former mayor and town historian Mike Fowler, the story has become the city trademark.
Hutto, Texas is the only community in the United States with a hippopotamus as its official mascot. Thousands of businesses and residents have enthusiastically embraced the hippo and the legend and proudly display artwork and sculptured images throughout town.
