Driftwood, seventeen miles northwest of San Marcos in central Hays County, grew up in the 1880s as a supply center for neighboring ranches and farms. Pioneers settled in the area, then known as Liberty Hill, as early as 1850, but most settlers arrived in the early 1880s.
By 1890 Driftwood had a post office, a school, churches, a cotton gin, and a general store. In 1945 Driftwood became part of the Buda school district. A century after its founding, the community remained a quiet Hill Country crossroads served by a general store and post office. In 1990 the population was twenty-one.
It lies along Farm to Market Road 150, north of San Marcos. Its elevation is 1,043 feet (318 m).
Driftwood is also home to the famous Salt Lick Barbecue Restaurant.