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History in
a Pecan Shell
The county is named
after early colonist Hayden Edwards of Nacogdoches.The city is named
after the Springs. After the courthouse burned, the spelling of the
town changed from Rock Springs to Rocksprings.
1881 was the year the site was selected, the year they got a post
office and the year they were made county seat. The population was
250 in 1892 and the town had everything they needed. By 1914 the population
had doubled.
The tidy courthouse
and jail
sit on the square and speak of a small population. The courthouse
was damaged by a tornado in 1927 that killed nearly 70 people.
Both the courthouse
and The Rocksprings Hotel served as shelters.
Rocksprings underwent a flurry of activity in the year 2000 with buildings
on the square remodeled, freshly painted or under construction. |
Vintage postcard
of 1927 Rocksprings Tornado destruction
Courtesy of Barrows family |
1927 Tornado
injured child
Vintage photo courtesy of Barrows family |
Wool and Mohair
Rocksprings
is also a big center for wool and mohair which is attested to by the
name of the weekly newspaper: The Rocksprings Record and Texas
Mohair Weekly. |
Robert L.Barrows
with wagons of wool leaving Rocksprings for Sonora
Texas.
Vintage photo courtesy of Barrows family |
Rocksprings,
Texas
Landmarks / Attractions
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Historical Marker
The Rock Spring
Known to early
Texans as one inch flow of water out of rocks. Site of a camp for
travelers and freighters. Occupants of land around the spring included
W. J. Greer, with a sheep camp, 1882; Francis Winans, with a cattle
and sheep
ranch, 1884; A. O. Burr, farming, about 1885. Cattlemen,
including Frank Gray, camped here during roundups. Outlaws
in 1880s frequented a hut nearby. Rocksprings Post Office opened 1891
in townsite platted for a new county seat at center of Edwards
County. The rock spring still seeps in city and county historic
park and playground.
(1972) |
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Historical Marker:
Rocksprings
Cemetery
The town of Rocksprings
traces its beginnings to 1889, when J. R. Sweeten dug the first water
well in the area to serve new settlers. Three years later, in 1892,
Sweeten donated two acres of land to be used as a community cemetery.
There were some burials at this site prior to its formal designation
as a cemetery. Two children, Willie J. Blackwell and Ben Smith, were
interred here in 1891. Many of the people buried in the Rocksprings
Cemetery in the early years were travelers passing through the area.
Among the more than one thousand graves are those of victims of a
devastating tornado which struck the town of April 12, 1927.
Over the years, additional land acquisitions have increased the size
of the cemetery. Iron fencing which once surrounded some grave sites
was donated to scrap metal drives during World
War II.
The Rocksprings Cemetery Association, which originated in 1897, was
formally chartered by the state in 1967. Through such projects as
surveys and landscaping, the association continues to maintain the
historic graveyard, which remains as a visible link to the community's
past.
(1989) |
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Rocksprings,
Texas Forum
Subject:
The one room School
After so many years I went to visit my home town RockSprings Texas.
We just drove around town. There is a lot of history but one thing
I notice the one room school for the Mexican kids has not been acknowledged,
and nothing has been done to it.
My older sisters went to school there. I went there on my first
year of school. My teacher was Mrs Glasscock. When integration started
we were moved to the big school. I remember like it was yesterday.
The white kids looked at us like we were from out of space. My little
brother was crying. I went to comfort him. I told him in Spanish
not to cry. The teacher call me to the front, got the ruler and
gave me 4-5 swaps on the back of my leg.
I am now 72 yrs old and I see in my mind that little room and us
all little Mexicans like Mexican goats, scare and couldn't communicate
in English, couldn't talk Spanish. Thank you. If you take time to
read this it would be nice if y'all would do something with that
little school. - Paula Perez, January 27, 2016
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Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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