Town of the Week

Round Rock, Texas
August 19, 2000
(rebroadcast from June 29, 1996)

Head over to Round Rock, Texas; just listen in.

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For cowboys, a huge round rock in central Texas was a like a beacon marking the Chisholm Trail. This huge slab of obsidian extruded from the crust of the earth during the Mesozoic Era. The rock marked the low water crossing of Brushy Creek, and you can still see the wagon ruts running up the creek bed. This area is a mix of gently rolling oak-covered hills and green farmland.

Settlers began arriving in the 1830s, and built Kenney Fort on the south side of the creek. When the railroad arrived in 1876, residents moved a mile north, creating Round Rock's old town and new town.

It was on the streets of Round Rock where bank robber Sam Bass met his maker, cut down in a hailstorm of Texas Rangers gunfire. Sam meets the same fate each year in a re-enactment during the town's Frontier Days.

Round Rock, with a population of about 50 thousand is a mix of bedroom community for the nearby state capitol, and an industrious one as well. Round Rock's cultural identity is shaped by the Sam Bass Theatre Association, Community Choir, and Ballet Folklorico. This is the home of the high school Dragons and Lady Dragons, the "quality of life capitol" of Texas, and our Town of the Week, Round Rock, Texas.