Riverside is a city in Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 425 at the 2000 census. Two famous natives of Riverside are singer-actress Jennifer Holliday (born 1960), best known for her creation of the role of Effie in the successful Tony-award winning Broadway musical "Dreamgirls. " Eugene C. Barker, premier historian of Texas, was born in Riverside in 1874. He was affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin from 1895, when he arrived as a student, until his death as professor emeritus in 1956.