[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by eschaton

Most state capitals were purposefully picked to be a somewhat geographically centrally located.

Of course, a lot languished and didn't become important. But there are plenty of examples that did, like Nashville, Columbus, Indianapolis, Des Moines, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, etc.

These cities were all decently sized for their time period relative to their states when they were selected as capital cities. Austin, however, was founded for the specific purpose of being a state capital a la DC and was centrally located for easy access throughout the state.