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About Round Rock

A city in Texas’ Williamson County (plus a small portion in Travis County) that is a component of the Greater Austin metropolitan area is called Round Rock. As of the 2020 census, 119,468 people called it home.

The city sits on the Balcones Escarpment, a fault line where the Texas Hill Country’s west side is primarily made up of hilly, karst-like terrain with higher elevations and little topsoil, and the areas roughly east of Interstate 35 are flat and distinguished by having black, fertile soils from the Blackland Prairie. The Texas State Highway 45 forms the shared border between Round Rock and Austin, which is situated about 20 miles (32 km) north of the centre of Austin.

Round Rock was ranked as the seventh-best small city to live in by Money in August 2008.

[7] Only one Texas city, Round Rock, made the list of the top 10. Round Rock was recognised as the second-fastest growing city in the nation in a CNN article from July 1, 2009, with a population increase of 8.2% the year before. 

The Round Rock Independent School District is rated among the top in the state by the Texas Education Agency for the year 2008. It contained 42 schools, of which 12 were deemed exceptional and 11 recognised.

Most people know Round Rock as the home of Dell Technologies, which has 16,000 employees worldwide and has its global headquarters there.

[9] Round Rock has evolved from a peaceful bedroom neighbourhood into its own self-contained “super suburb” as a result of the presence of Dell and other significant businesses, as well as an economic development programme, big retailers like IKEA, a Premium Outlet Mall, and the mixed-use La Frontera centre.
Human habitation has existed in Round Rock and Williamson County at least since 9,200 BCE. Based on evidence discovered at the extensively researched Gault Site, halfway between Georgetown and Fort Hood, the earliest people of the area are believed to have lived during the late Pleistocene (Ice Age) and are connected to the Clovis culture circa 9,200 BCE. [13] The ancient skeleton remains known as “the Leanderthal Lady” because of their age and near to Leander, Texas, are one of the most significant recent discoveries. [14] Workers for the Texas Department of Transportation accidentally discovered the site while drilling core samples for a new highway. It is located 4 miles (6 km) west of Round Rock. The site has been investigated for many years, and carbon samples from the area show that it was last inhabited about 10,500 years ago.

Along streams and other water sources, such as Brushy Creek in Round Rock and the San Gabriel River in Georgetown, 10 miles (16 km) north, are also where prehistoric and Archaic “open occupancy” campsites can be found.

[15] Based on artefacts and flint tools found in charred rock middens, these archaeology excavation sites reveal far more American evidence of residents from the Archaic period. The Tonkawa were the first known “historical” Native Americans to live there. They were flint-using hunters who tracked buffalo on foot and occasionally lit the prairie on fire to help in their hunts.

The Tonkawa adopted a horse-based society during the 18th century and only sometimes employed guns. Native Americans from the Kiowa, Yojuane, Tawakoni, and Mayeye tribes may have been present in the county during the early Anglo colonisation in small numbers. [16] The Comanches continued to raid communities in the area until the 1860s after being driven out by European colonisation. Native Americans were being forced out of Central Texas in the late 19th century.

Some of the contemporary paved roads in the area followed the ancient Native-American trails as it transformed into a rural Anglo hamlet. Because it was wide enough for two horsemen to ride side by side, one well-known immigrant route that passed through Round Rock is known as the “Double File Trail.” The San Gabriel River near Georgetown, Brushy Creek in Round Rock, and the Colorado River in Austin were all traversed by a longer trail that originated in North Texas. [17] Double File Trail Elementary School is the name of an elementary education in the Round Rock school system.

A little settlement was established in 1851 close to a sizable rock that was fashioned like an anvil in the midst of Brushy Creek. This rounded rock served as a safe low-water crossing for horses, cattle, and waggons. The community’s initial postmaster referred to it as “Brushy,” and the creek was known as “Brushy Creek,” but in 1854, on his recommendation, the postmaster suggested renaming the small community Round Rock in honour of this now-famous rock. Jesse Chisholm started transporting cattle from South Texas through Round Rock to Abilene, Kansas, after the Civil War. The Chisholm Trail was the name given to the path he created, which spanned Brushy Creek near the round rock. [18] The majority of the historic structures have been conserved, including the former Saint Charles Hotel. These days, “Old Town” refers to this historic neighbourhood.

On July 19, 1878, the Texas Ranger Division engaged in a historic firefight in downtown Round Rock before killing the 19th-century American rail robber Sam Bass[20]. After Bass and his crew robbed the train from Fort Worth to Cleburne, the Rangers pursued them. Bass was pursued to Round Rock, where he was engaged in a gunfight with Ranger George Herold and Ranger Sergeant Richard Ware before being shot and killed. A.W. Grimes, a deputy sheriff, died in the gunfight. Soapy Smith, a well-known con artist, and his cousin Edwin were close by when Ware was shot. I think you got him, Soapy said. [21] Locally, the occasion is referred to as the “Sam Bass Shootout.” [22] The July 4 Frontier Days Celebration in Old Settlers Park recreates this firefight each year. Northwest of “Old Town” on Sam Bass Road is the Round Rock Cemetery, where Bass is laid to rest. The Round Rock Public Library has his actual headstone on display.

The county’s riches was derived from the cotton fields throughout the first part of the 20th century.

East of Interstate 35, truck farming, cotton, row crops, and grapes were the main sources of food. Ranchers reared cattle, sheep, and, to a lesser extent, goats west of the Balcones divide. Cotton was the main economic force at the time due to Round Rock’s advantageous geographic location over the rich, fertile “blackland prairie” soils, sometimes known locally as the “black waxy”[26] (due to the soil’s high clay content). This ecoregion is perfect for crop agriculture due to the soil and temperature. The main cotton hub, east of Round Rock in the vicinity of Taylor, Texas, was where the harvest was transported for mechanical ginning at the cotton gin, packed into bales, and sent by train. After the train arrived in Austin in the 1870s, it briefly became a centre for the cotton industry. [27] Although mostly east of Round Rock, cotton and cattle raising are still done today, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Round Rock

Round Rock is a city near Austin, Texas. It’s known for its outdoor activities and historic sites. The Round Rock, a large stone in Brushy Creek, marks the site where wagons made low-water crossings in the 19th century. Nearby, Chisholm Trail Crossing Park has plaques detailing the city’s cattle-driving history. Old Settlers Park includes baseball fields, playgrounds, a disc golf course and a fish-stocked lake. 

Elevation: 224 m
Population: 128,812 (2020)
Area code: Area code 512
Neighborhoods: Scott – White, Behrens Ranch, Rock Creek Plaza, MORE