The new 1876 Constitution, which passed as post-Civil War Reconstruction was ending,
included a provision for financing a new capitol building. In 1881,
just as plans for a new capitol were finished, the 1853 capitol burned
to the ground. A temporary capitol was erected across the street. The
new capitol, financed by the sale of three million acres of public land
and built of native red granite, was completed in 1888.
Source: Austin History Center; State Preservation Board. (full source)