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ROUND
ROCK, TEXAS
Williamson County,
Texas
Hill Country
I-35 & US 79
16 miles N of Austin
Population: 61,136 (2000) 30,923 (1990)
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The
1894 Palm Valley Lutheran Church and Cemetery
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, April 2005 |
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
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Round Rock
Points of Interest
The
Palm House Museum
212 East Main Street
Monday to Saturday 9:30 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday 1:00 - 5:00 pm
Round
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
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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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