The Round Rock Historic Commercial District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The district consists of the buildings fronting the 100 and 200 blocks of E. Main Street and the Old Post Office/Masonic Lodge at 107 S. Mays Street. Many of the buildings in the District were built in the late 1800s when the railroad was first extended to the area, stopping just short of the original town of Round Rock on the Chisholm Trail.

Click below to download the Round Rock Historic Architecture-Walking Tour Brochure.

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Go back in time by exploring historic architecture in Round Rock. Most buildings in the downtown were built between 1876 and 1881, although several buildings have facades that date from later eras.  Round Rock is also fortunate to have a well-preserved stock of houses which shows the progression of middle-class housing styles from the 1870s through the present.

Take a walking tour of historic downtown Round Rock using the walking tour brochure below. The walking tour distance is 1.7 miles and should take approximately 1 hour to complete. The route includes the National Register of Historic Places Commercial Historic District, as well as several historic sites and homes outside the boundaries of the district to capture a better understanding of the history of downtown Round Rock, Texas.

Click below to download the Round Rock Historic Architecture-Walking Tour Brochure.

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The Historic Round Rock Collection is the product of the Historic Preservation Commission’s Historic Round Rock Project: an Ongoing History, funded in part with a Certified Local Government grant from the Texas Historical Commission. The Collection supplements existing historical accounts of Round Rock and provides a medium for residents to share stories, accounts, and photos, and in the process encourages their documentation.

Click below for Round Rock Historic Walking Tour Brochure.

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New historic building information placards have been installed on the 24 buildings in downtown’s Commercial Historic District.  The placards describe each building’s architecture, history, and some of the businesses that have occupied them.  Take a look at them next time you’re downtown, and see some of the stories behind Round Rock’s downtown.

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While the Historic Preservation Commission is primarily occupied with matters relating to the preservation of sites and buildings in Round Rock, there are many organizations and resources with information relating to the general history of Round Rock and Williamson County.  Please visit The City of Round Rock’s website (click “Go To Website” button) for more resources.

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Part of the history and lore of Round Rock involves the Chisholm Trail. This popular trading trail was often used for the transportation of cattle from the grazing lands in the Southwest to the markets in the Midwest in the 1800s.

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The Historic Round Rock Collection is a project documenting Round Rock’s history, funded in part with a grant from the Texas Historical Commission. These pages are adapted from the original 1991 print version. 

The coming of the railroad in 1876 forced the town of Round Rock to relocate in order to survive. Old Town remained after New Town was constructed but its importance declined, and it was not until recently that reinvestment occurred in Old Town. New Town has remained a viable business district up to the current time, and its historic flavor has been emphasized by its designation as a commercial historic district.

On May 6, 1876, a Round Rock citizen, Washington Anderson, sold 150 acres of land to the International and Great Northern Railroad for $3,000. The Railroad kept 25 acres for use as its right-of-way; the remaining land was then sold to the Texas Land Company (a subsidiary of the International and Great Northern Railroad). The Texas Land Company then divided the land into 46 blocks of lots and announced that the land was for sale (DiGesualdo and Thompson 69-75). Washington Anderson hoped that the newly platted town would be named Andersonville in his honor; however, the name Round Rock was retained with this new area being referred to as New Town. The first lot to be sold was lot 19 of block 8, at 100 S. Mays, for $325 to John E. Walker and W.L. Mays. An additional 84 lots were sold in 1876, and 56 more lots were sold in 1877 (Ibid. 78). The original plat contained the locations of all of the streets and alleys, but the Texas Land Company retained ownership of the streets until December 8, 1880 when they were dedicated to “the townspeople of Round Rock.” The streets were roughly laid out to correspond with the compass points, with east-west running roads designated as avenues and north-south roads designated as streets. The northernmost avenue was named Austin, with Liberty Hill and Georgetown (later renamed Main) Avenues to the south. The southernmost avenue was named Bagdad and ran parallel to the railroad right-of-way. The north-south running streets were named after the early families who settled in Round Rock and various landmarks. The original street names were, from west to east: San Saba, Harris, Brown, McDonald, Mays, Lampasas, Sheppard, Burnet, Lewis, Stone and Black (Ibid. 82).

In 1876, the first constructions in New Town were merely tents hastily erected alongside the International and Great Northern railway. One of the first businesses established in New Town was a mercantile store set up by Captain J.C.S. Morrow, Sam Houston’s son-in-law. Morrow recognized the economic opportunity presented by the new rail line and moved his business from Georgetown to New Town (Ibid. 313). On July 29, 1876 the first deed for the Round Rock Broom Factory was written; that same year a second industry was founded in Round Rock. William Walsh relocated his lime factory to Round Rock from Austin due to the existence of a better grade of limestone in the area. The Round Rock White Lime Company would go on to be a major employer in the City and provided lime that was used in the construction of the State Capitol building in the 1880s (Ibid. 313).

By the next summer, 1877, several new businesses had been added to New Town’s business district: George M. Dilley and Company Lumber; H.B. Sheppard General Merchandise, which had moved over from Old Town, Drs. J.J. and W. H. Tobin Drugs; J.M. Forwood and J.F. Cottingham Lumber; August Glober Hardware; Henry Albert Highsmith Livery Stable; M.D. Miller Exchange Bank; Round Rock Headlight Newspaper (published by W.K. Foster); Round Rock Hotel (also known as the Hart House); E.P. Robinson Hardware and Dealer in Hides; W.S. and P.G. Peters Bankers; and the Law Office of James Harvey Robertson (Ibid. 314).

In 1878, Round Rock was the terminus for the International and Great Northern Railroad. Supplies destined to be shipped to the East or supplies being transported to a point west or south of Round Rock had to be loaded or unloaded at New Town, adding much to the economic activity of the City. Travelers were also common and at this time Round Rock had more hotels than Austin to accommodate them (DiGesualdo and Thompson 70). An 1878 description of the City from the book Southern and Western Texas Guide indicated that the City’s businesses and establishments consisted of: two planing mills, four lumber yards, two flouring mills, two wagon shops, one broom factory, two harness and saddlery shops, two hardware stores, two stove and tinware stores, fourteen general merchandise stores, blacksmith shops, the Miller’s Exchange Bank, three churches, four schools, a Masonic College (built at a cost of $5,000) a Masons and Odd Fellows Lodge, and one newspaper (DiGesualdo and Thompson 67). Henry Kopperal opened his store this year, Dr. Forbes (who subsequently died treating yellow fever victims in Memphis, Tennessee) practiced medicine, W.D. Herrick operated a gin, and H.A. Christie headed up the Williamson County Bank. By 1880, R. Tatsch had opened a blacksmith and wheelwright shop (Scarbrough 314-315).

An International and Great Northern Railroad publication, Homes In Texas On The Line Of The International And Great Northern R.R. 1880-1, reported that Round Rock in 1880 had, in addition to the above mentioned businesses, a drug store, six hotels, two restaurants, two bakeries, one meat market, a jewelry store, two flouring mills, two planing mills, two wagon shops, four blacksmith shops, two saddlery and tanners shops, and two photograph galleries. Additionally, the City had a Methodist Church, Societies of Presbyterian, Episcopalians, and Baptists, two schools, and one high school. The book indicated that the lumber industry in Round Rock was “immense” (125). The book also indicated that land around Round Rock was selling for $25 an acre with easy terms.

Information on the types and locations of businesses in Round Rock for the years 1885, 1891 and 1896 comes from the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. The Sanborn Map Company was founded in order to supply information to fire insurance underwriters for the purpose of determining the risks and potential damage from fire in American Cities in the late nineteenth century. These maps are extremely detailed, indicating the location of buildings, the types of materials that the buildings are constructed of, the types of roofing materials used, the number of stories, the location of alleys, etc. The location of such fire hazards as forges, ovens and stored kerosene are also indicated. Some businesses are not included in the maps due to the fact that the Sanborn Maps focused in only on the downtown and other densely populated areas of towns.

The 1885 Sanborn Map of Round Rock indicated that there was one livery stable, a black smith, two wagon shops, print shop, carriage painting shop, three sets of sleeping rooms, a grain storage area, a boarding house, four hotels (including the Hart and Young Hotels), two barber shops, two harness shops, a saddlery, a confections and fruit store, a drugstore, paints oils and stationary store, two notion stores, a meat store, a cobbler, five grocery stores, a bank, a paint and oil store, a millinery, a furniture and crockery store, and J.K. Ayre’s Lumber Yard.

By 1891, William J. Lemps Beer House had been added, as had a grist mill (L.S. Woodward’s Cotton Gin and Grist Mill), a hardware store, blacksmith shop, another meat store, a carpenter, and photo gallery. The 1891 Sanborn Map showed that Ayre’s Lumber Yard had changed to R.D. Harris Lumber Yard and two new hotels had been added: Euhl’s and Smith’s. The City also erected a windmill.

By 1896, the City had diversified as indicated by the new businesses: another hotel (Herrick), a chili stand, another black smith shop, a wagon shop– which did painting and trimming, a general store, a jewelry store, a tin shop, a marble cutting business, a corn mill, another barber shop, another stationary shop (Old Walls), and the L.S. Woodward’s Cotton Gin and Grist Mill had closed down, supplanted by the Bradford and Bradford Cotton Gin. The lumber yard had either gone out of business or moved to a new location outside of the downtown area. The 1896 map is the first to identify the artesian well, located at the intersection of Mays and Georgetown and Round Rock Avenues. Before the drilling of this well, New Town was supplied with water by privately owned water wagons that would fill with water from a spring on the north side of Brushy Creek, which was owned by Washington Anderson, and then take the water into town to sell to residents (Scarbrough 315).

The well has a clouded history. According to the Sanborn Maps, it was in existence in 1896; however, another article states that the well was drilled in 1897 by Lee R. Hartley for J.D. Robertson and others (“Mineral Water”). The well was an artesian well; the water would flow out of the well and run down the unpaved streets of Round Rock (DiGesualdo and Thompson 38). In 1931, the well was ordered to be capped by the City Council (City Council Minutes Vol. 2 P. 33). In 1935, Round Rock’s modern water works was constructed through a project funded by the Public Works Administration. At this time the modern well and 130 foot high, 60,000-gallon tank were erected (“PWA Project”). The gazebo that today stands in the intersection was constructed in 1970, the original gazebo is now located in Old Settlers Park (DiGesualdo and Thompson 39).

In the 1970s, the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce and City Council sponsored a downtown beautification project designed to restore the downtown area to a style reminiscent of the late 1800s, with many of the businesses renovating their facades. In the mid-1980s, the city undertook a $500,000 capital improvements project to reinvigorate the area. Overhead utility wires were buried, Main Street was leveled and repaved with pave stones, the median was created and landscaped, sidewalks were added, and decorative street lights were installed. Today the area has been designated as a commercial historic district and in 1983 a portion of the downtown area was added to the National Register of Historic Places (DiGesualdo and Thompson 84-85 and 256).

Bibliography

DiGesualdo, Jane H. and Karen R. Thompson.  Historical Round Rock.  Eakin Publications, Inc. Austin, Texas: 1985.

Homes in Texas on the Line of the International and Grat Northern R. R. 1880-1881.  Matthews, Northrup and Co., Buffalo, New York: 1880.

“Mineral Water Again Flowing from Historical Old Well Which Has Been Restored This Week.”  The Round Rock Leader.  October 18, 1934.

“PWA Project Completed in Two-Thirds Time Below Original Cost Estimate and San Antonians Do the Work.”  San Antonio Express News.  May 26, 1935.

Round Rock City Council “Minutes”

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  Perris Map Co., Limited.  New York: 1885, 1891 and 1896.

Scarborough, Clara Stearns.  1973.  Land of Good Water, Takachue Pouetsu: A Williamson County, Texas History.  Williamson County Sun Publishers, Georgetown, Texas.

Photo #8 courtesy Earl’s Fine Art, 106 Fairlane, Round Rock, TX 78664, 512-244-7445

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The Historic Round Rock Collection is a project documenting Round Rock’s history, funded in part with a grant from the Texas Historical Commission.  These pages are adapted from the original 1991 print version. 

Originally, Round Rock was not named Round Rock, nor was it located where it currently is. Coincidence and fate combined to determine the location of Round Rock.

The initial settlement of Brushy (as the town was originally called) was located near the banks of Brushy Creek at the natural fording area by the round rock.  This settlement grew, despite a succession of floods, and flourished until the coming of the International and Great Northern Railroad in 1876 forced the commercial area of Round Rock to move to the east, leaving the original settlement to be referred to as Old Town forever more.

One of the first settlers of what was to become Old Town was Jacob M. Harrell.  Harrell was Austin’s first blacksmith but he chose to move his shop and house to the north bank of Brushy Creek in the spring of 1848 (the family cemetery that he established can be viewed today at the intersection of Bowman Road and Interstate 35). The summer of that same year, Williamson County’s first school was constructed in a log cabin two miles southwest of present day Round Rock; a Mr. Allen was the first teacher and the list of students included several Round Rock youngsters: Henry Bratton, F.M. Harrell, Azalee Harrell and others (Scarbrough 134).  Soon after the establishment of this school, another school was erected north of Brushy Creek by Samuel L. Makemson and D.F. Knight.  George W. Layman served as the first teacher at this log cabin school (Ibid. 113-114).

The Harris Stagecoach Inn (also known as the Inn at Brushy Creek) was constructed in 1848 by John Harris.  The limestone that was used on the Inn was quarried from the hill upon which it stands; cedar for the floor was carted to the site from Brenham, Texas.  The Inn served the stagecoaches that carried mail and passengers from Brownsville to Salado, and from Helena, Arkansas to San Antonio, Texas (Carter 176).  Reports from 1853 tell of how Round Rock citizens would gather at the Inn in order to observe the arrival of the stagecaches and their travelers.  The arrival of the coach was announced by the sounding of a horn by the coach driver one mile before the Round Rock stop.  Mr. Harris kept a flock of geese at the hotel (for the purpose of supplying feathers for the Inn’s beds and pillows) who responded to the horn by honking, bringing much attention to the arriving stage.  Mr. Harris, and his wife Susie, were considered to be excellent hosts; rooms at the Inn were reported to be clean and comfortable and the meals served, often consisting of chicken and dumplings, were reportedly delicious (Scarbrough 176).

The Brushy Creek Post Office was established in a section of Thomas C. Oatts’ store on May 27, 1851.  However in 1854, postal authorities asked Mr. Oatts to provide another name for the settlement (being that there was already a town in the State that called itself Brushy).  Mr. Oatts decided to rename the town Round Rock in recognition of the large rock in the middle of Brushy Creek where he and Jacob Harrell spent much time sitting and fishing; thus on August 24, 1854, the name of Round Rock was officially given to the community (Scarbrough 310).

In 1852, a private company contracted with the Federal Government to carry the mail between San Antonio and Memphis, Tennessee, passing through Austin, Round Rock, Georgetown, Waco and Dallas.  This mail line consisted of two “horse hacks” that made two, and later three, trips a week upon this line (Ibid. 145).

The first church service held in the area was in December of 1847 at the home of Freeman Smalley, located east of present day Round Rock.  On January 12, 1854, a deed was issued to the Anti-Slave Holding Union Baptist Church trustees (including Zara Stearns, B.F. Smalley and James K. Smalley). In 1855, the Baptists and Presbyterians built a Union Church.  This two-story building had an outside stairway that led up to the Masonic Lodge quarters. The Union Church had two doors, one for men and one for women and children. People were summoned to church services, weddings, funerals and Masonic meetings by the ringing of a triangle that hung in a nearby tree (Ibid. 312).

In 1856, T.C. Thompson’s wheat mill was fully operational; that same year Round Rock was included for the first time on the Texas Land Office maps (Ibid. 162 and 149).

In the 1860s, houses and businesses began to sprout along the north shore of Brushy Creek; H.B. Sheppard’s store opened in the winter of 1860, later G.W. “Walsh” Davis and L. Mays’ stores were opened. In 1866, licenses to sell small quantities of liquor were granted to Alex McFarland and S.H. Rutledge (Ibid. 310-311).  In the 1860s, land was purchased to establish the Round Rock Academy which may have led to the establishment of the Greenwood Masonic Institute in 1867, which later became the Round Rock College (Ibid. 312).

Events occurring in 1869 included John T. Ricks becoming a partner in H.B. Sheppard’s store and the opening of another store by Henry Harris.  1869 was also the year in which Round Rock’s first documented murder took place. On the evening of June 11, two men came to Dr. J.C. Black’s stone home (the basement of which is rumored to have been used as the town’s first jail) and requested that he prepare them some medicine. After preparing the medicine the doctor stepped outside to examine one of the men who was pretending to be ill. At this point the men shot the doctor through the chest and rode off into the night yelling and firing their guns.  Dr. Black, the town’s physician, died soon after from the wound.  The motive for the shooting was Dr. Black’s repeated castigation of some local trouble makers (Ibid. 311).

Industry in Round Rock in 1870 was composed of L.M. May’s carding machine, mills owned by B.T. Adams and A. Verse, and a factory that included a gristmill, wool carding machine and a gin all under one roof. In December of 1870, Nat. Q. Henderson began the Round Rock Sentinel, the local newspaper; however, in 1871 publication of the Sentinel was terminated due to financial difficulties. In September of the same year, publication of the newspaper began again. In October of 1872, Henderson moved to Georgetown, taking his newspaper with him (Ibid. 311-312).

A listing of Round Rock businesses open by 1871 included: J.W. Ledbetter (insurance), D.S. Cooke (blacksmith and wagon shop), A. Kuykendall (blacksmith), John Kirkpatrick’s Round Rock Hotel, H.C. Maddox (book seller), R.B. Masterson (saddle shop), John Kirkpatrick’s Restaurant, and E.M. Bolen (tombstones).  By 1872, a dry goods, grocery and “receiving house” business had been opened by G.W. Davis, J.B. Davis and H.C. Maddox.  In 1873, Mays bought out Davis, his business partner, and then sold half interest of the business to J.M. Black.  At some time in the early 1870s, John Peterson set up a blacksmith shop on West Main Street (Ibid. 312).

In 1876, with the coming of the International and Great Northern Railroad, most businesses realized that commercial activity would shift to the new location along the tracks and prepared to abandon Old Town for the New Town location.  After the opening of the rail line in 1876, the two Round Rocks functioned and were both shown on maps and official documents as “Old Round Rock” and “New Round Rock”.  At times, New Town was referred to as merely Round Rock. On December 16, 1891, the post office at Old Town was closed down; by this time most of Old Town had been abandoned. Interest in Old Town waned until the middle of the twentieth century when individuals began to take an interest in the fine old stone buildings and restoration work began. At this time, the street through Old Town was renamed Chisholm Trail in order to call attention to the historical nature of the area (Ibid. 312-313).

Today, the area has special historical interest and several businesses have restored and then located their shops in these buildings.  The restoration of this area can be seen as being an attempt to emphasize the historic past of the City of Round Rock.

Bibliography

Carter, Kathryn Turner.  Stagecoach Inns of Texas.  Texian Press, Waco, Texas:  1972.

Scarborough, Clara Stearns.  1973.  Land of Good Water, Takachue Pouetsu: A Williamson County, Texas History.  Williamson County Sun Publishers, Georgetown, Texas.

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Here is the story of Sam Bass, also known as “Texas’ Beloved Bandit” or “Robin Hood on a Fast Horse” (Centennial Commission), this infamous character is a popular figure around Round Rock. One of Round Rock’s major streets bears his name as do several businesses. As a legend, the accounts of Sam’s life are as varied as the number of individuals telling the tale. But the basic storyline remains; the differing accounts are offered to allow people to appreciate the full extent of the legends and lore that have grown up around Sam Bass.

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