Cedar Park is on Cluck Creek and U.S. Highway 183 some sixteen miles northwest of Austin in southwestern Williamson County. In earlier days the community and the creek were named Running Brushy, after a heavy-flowing spring that formed the headwaters of the creek.

In 1871 George Cluck made a cattle drive up the Chisholm Trail accompanied by his wife Harriet, who was the first woman to make the drive; in 1873 the Clucks bought the land which included Running Brushy Spring. The Cluck ranch and home became the nucleus for a community. A post office was authorized in February 1874 for the Running Brushy settlement. Joel Sutton served as postmaster until December 1874, when Harriet Cluck took the job, which she held for eight years. In 1882 the Austin and Northwestern Railroad was completed from Austin to Burnet, crossing the Cluck land in Running Brushy. The deed called for a sidetrack to be built. At this time the railroad company changed the name of the community to Brueggerhoff, the name of a partner of a company official. In 1887 Emmett Cluck, son of George and Harriet, renamed the town Cedar Park, after the parklike surroundings of his home. In 1892, when George Cluck sold the railroad company a lot adjoining the railroad, the deed called for a park and a building to house plants. For years the park was used as a community meeting place. Limestone for building became a major product of Cedar Park in the 1890s and remained important until about 1970. Cedar fence posts were also a major product during this period. Under the influence of the growth of nearby Austin, the local ranch land began to be used for housing in the 1960s, and between 1970 and 1980 the population of Cedar Park grew from 125 to over 3,000.

On February 24, 1973, Cedar Park citizens voted to incorporate. In the 1980s Cedar Park comprised shopping centers, numerous other businesses, and rapidly multiplying dwellings. In 1990 it reported 206 rated businesses and 5,161 residents. By 2000 the population had grown to 26,049 with 862 businesses.