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ROUND
ROCK, TEXASWilliamson
County, Texas
Hill Country
I-35 & US 79
16 miles N of Austin
Population: 61,136 (2000) 30,923 (1990)
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Yes,
there really was a Round Rock, and you can even see it. Judge for yourself if
it even looks remotely round. Although its population and proximity to Austin
make it seem out of place, we're including it for it's abundant limestone buildings.
It's also a pleasant place to play hooky from Austin.
Remember when Austin was a hooky
player's destination?
The Chamber of Commerce has some old photographs
and memorabilia of the town displayed in a comfortable setting. Look them over
before entering the Chamber proper. Be prepared for a very businesslike atmosphere
toward the back. This is not a small town, remember. Their colorful brochure is
representative of the tightrope they seem to be walking between the past and the
future. An excellent, easy to read map shows all points of interest and then some.
The Round Rock is mentioned as well as the historical buildings, downtown, and
the cemetery where Sam Bass is buried.
I once chided Round Rock about
Sam Bass Road. I had written that Gonzales
would never have named a street after John Wesley Hardin, even though he once
practiced law there. Imagine my surprise when I picked up The Story of Sam
Bass, in the Chamber of Commerce and read an anonymous biography that was
harder on him than I had been. We both used the word "inept" and the phrase "blown
out of proportion". His name isn't even remotely euphonic, and is missing the
all-important third name like John Wesley Hardin or Billy the Kid. So why did
he become a legend?
See
Sam
Bass: The Not So Merry Bandit
by Clay Coppedge
If notorious Old West bandit Sam Bass buried all the
gold he is said to have buried in Central Texas, he would have been a wealthy
man indeed. He wouldn't have made the fatal decision to rob a bank in Round Rock
in July of 1878. He would simply have stopped by one of the caves where millions
of his dollars are said to have been buried, and hightailed it to Mexico, incognito.
Likewise, if he stopped by every place he is said to have been sighted on that
ill-fated trip to Round Rock... more
The
Hairy Man of Round Rock by Maggie Van Ostrand
"Round Rock's
Hairy Man's the real thing and he's been there back since pioneers built cabins
and helped conquer the West...
To
this day, the Hairy Man's ghost roams along the same shady road upon which he
had died such a grisly death, doomed forever to seek return of the life that was
so violently ripped from him.
Kindly Texans have since tried to make it
up to him by celebrating an annual Hairy Man Festival each October, Halloween
month. There are food, fun, and festivities galore, including a Hairy Man Contest...
more"
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Round
Rock Points of InterestThe
Palm House Museum
212 East Main Street
Monday to Saturday 9:30 am
to 5:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pmRound
Rock Chamber of Commerce
212 East Main Street
1-512-255-5805, 1-800-747-3479
http://www.roundrockchamber.org/
Round Rock
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
Round
Rock History"Round
Rock ... was established on the north bank of Brushy Creek where Jacob M. Harrell,
formerly a blacksmith in Austin, set up his shop during the spring of 1848. The
settlement was first called Brushy Creek. Thomas C. Oatts, who became the first
postmaster in 1851, was asked by postal officials to submit another name, and
on August 24, 1854, the town officially became Round Rock, as suggested by Oatts
and Harrell, who often fished together from a large anvil-shaped limestone rock
in Brushy Creek near their dwellings. The Chisholm
Trail, used by early cattle drivers on their way to Kansas, passed through
Round Rock, crossing Brushy Creek near the rock ...."
See Handbook of Texas Online
www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/RR/her3.html
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