Editing Round Rock, Texas (section)

===20th-century history===


====Cotton====

In the first half of the 20th century, the county's wealth came from the cotton fields.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1|page=22 }}</ref> [[Cotton]], row crops, grapes, and truck farming were the predominant subsistence east of Interstate 35. West of the Balcones divide, ranchers raised cattle, sheep, and to a lesser extent, goats.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |page=82 }}</ref> Due to Round Rock's favorable geographic location over the rich, fertile "[[Texas blackland prairies|blackland prairie]]" soils also known locally as the "black waxy"<ref name="Scarbrough 2009">{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 }}</ref> (due to the soil's high clay content), cotton was the largest economic driver at that time. Because of the soil and climate, this ecoregion is ideally suited to crop agriculture. Nearby [[Taylor, Texas|Taylor]], Texas, east of Round Rock, was the primary cotton center where the crop was hauled for [[cotton gin|ginning]] (its seeds mechanically removed) at the [[cotton gin]], compressed into bales, and shipped by train. Austin was also a cotton center for a time once the railroad arrived there in the 1870s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |pages=250–251 }}</ref> Cotton production and cattle raising, on a much smaller scale, continues today, although primarily east of Round Rock.

====Chisholm Trail Crossing Park====

To preserve the heritage of the famous crossing, a [[Chisholm Trail Crossing Park]] was developed to provide visitors with a simulated scene of Round Rock's historical role in the Chisholm cattle drive. Commemorative plaques in the park tell of the history of Round Rock. The bronze sculptures of four steers with pioneer woman Hattie Cluck and her son, Emmitt, were commissioned by the city through donations from Round Rock residents. The sculptures depict Round Rock's history as a crossing location along the Chisholm Trail.<ref>{{cite news |title=Recalling family connections along Round Rock's old Chisholm Trail |first=Edward |last=Torres |newspaper=Round Rock Leader |date=February 23, 2009 |url=http://www.rrleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=21022&SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&S=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715205750/http://www.rrleader.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=21022&SectionID=7&SubSectionID=7&S=1 |archive-date=July 15, 2011 }}</ref> The project plans include 18 to 20 additional bronze statues over time.

====Old Settlers Association====

[[File:OSAEntrance.jpg|thumb|right|The entrance to the Old Settlers Association facilities in Round Rock, Texas]]
Following the end of the [[American Civil War]], a group of Confederate veterans held a reunion in Georgetown on August 27, 1904, for the old settlers of Williamson County and their descendants. The invitation promised "good music, plenty to eat, and above all a warm welcome." The event was well-attended, and reunions—now called Old Settlers Association (OSA) reunions—have been held annually ever since. After the initial one, the event was moved to Round Rock and eventually a structure was built (along with three restored log cabins) in the Palm Valley area of Round Rock, in front of Old Settlers Park, just off Highway 79 in east Round Rock. All members of the organization are descendants of Williamson County residents prior to 1904. OSA has about 50 active members and 300 members in all.<ref>{{cite news |title=Round Rock Old Settlers Association |first=Amy |last=Stansbury |newspaper=Community Impact Newspaper |date=July 3, 2008 |url=http://impactnews.com/round-rock-pflugerville/nonprofit/1292-old-settlers-association-round-rock |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100411052559/http://impactnews.com/round-rock-pflugerville/nonprofit/1292-old-settlers-association-round-rock |archive-date=April 11, 2010 }}</ref> The Old Settlers Association today is a social and educational group, with the purpose of facilitating social activities, as well as collecting and preserving important historical information and facts. The facilities are rented for meetings, arts and craft and collectable shows, events, parties, weddings and rehearsal dinners.<ref>{{cite book |title=Historical Round Rock Texas |last=Thompson |first=Karen R. |author2=Jane H. Digesualado  |publisher=Nortex Press (Eakin Publications) |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=<!--none -->}}</ref>

====Economic impact of Interstate 35====

In the 1950s, planners of the new [[Interstate Highway System]] proposed to route Interstate 35 through Taylor, whose population and cotton industry made it the county's economic powerhouse. Highway Commissioner [[Dewitt C. Greer State Highway Building|DeWitt Greer]] called for the "[[Interregional Highways|interregional]]" highway to go through Taylor on its way from [[Dallas, Texas|Dallas]] to [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], but some Taylor leaders and other citizens fought the idea, worried about the possibility of cutting farmers off from all or part of their fields, traffic noise, damage to country life, loss of farmland, and unwanted right-of-way acquisition—it was proposed to be an astounding {{convert|300|ft|m|sigfig=1}} wide, unheard of before this time. No one even knew what an "Interregional Highway" would look like, unless they had traveled to [[Germany]] to see the [[Autobahn]] or the [[Merritt Parkway]] in [[Connecticut]]. Instead, they wanted improvements to the [[farm-to-market road]]s and a straight route to Austin.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |pages=53–256 }}</ref>

Meanwhile, Round Rock leaders sought the highway and its potential economic benefits. Mayor Louis Henna lobbied the Highway Commission. In June 1956, the 15-year debate over the form, funding, and route of the Interstate was resolved.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |page=271 }}</ref> Due to the heavy lobbying, and not wanting to antagonize Taylor, the highway was built along the edge of the Balcones Fault line, running through Round Rock. The precise route was not without opposition, however, as the new road cut off "Old Town" to the west from what had become the more recent "downtown" area east of Interstate 35.<ref>{{cite book |title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb |last=Scarbrough |first=Linda |year=2009 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association |location=Austin, Texas |isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |page=257 }}</ref> The Interstate eventually made Round Rock into a viable and vibrant commercial center, while Taylor withered with the decline of the cotton industry. Today, it is a minor, modest town with a smaller population, while Round Rock has thrived and rapidly grown into the largest city in the county, attracting Dell Computer and major retail centers.<ref name="Scarbrough 2009 259">{{cite book|title=Road, River and Good Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb|last=Scarbrough|first=Linda|year=2005 |publisher=Texas State Historical Association|location=Austin, Texas|isbn=978-0-87611-202-1 |page=259}}</ref> The transformation of Round Rock is detailed in a book by Linda Scarborough (publisher of the ''Williamson County Sun'' newspaper) titled ''Road, River and Ol' Boy Politics: A Texas County's Path from Farm to Supersuburb'' published by Texas State Historical Press.<ref name="Scarbrough 2009"/>

====Life as a suburb community====

By the 1990s, Round Rock was primarily a suburb, with the majority of its employed residents working in Austin and then returning home after work to places such as Round Rock and Georgetown, where housing and land were less expensive. In the 1990s, Round Rock had few major employers and jobs other than local retail and other services, or ranching and farming.<ref name="Thompson 78"/> In the late 1990s, though, that began to change as [[economic development]] became a major focus of the city and the [[Chamber of Commerce]]. [[Dell]] Corporation moved its headquarters to Round Rock, which has provided a significant number of jobs with 16,000 employees at its Round Rock headquarters.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20090619172815/http://content.dell.com/us/en/corp/d/corp-comm/aboutdell-worldwide.aspx Dell Worldwide]." Dell. Retrieved on May 4, 2010.</ref><ref name="bizjournals.com">Hall, Christine. "[http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/stories/2010/04/26/daily41.html Cyberstates: Texas second-largest tech employment]." ''[[Austin Business Journal]]''. Wednesday April 28, 2010. Retrieved on May 4, 2010.</ref>''(See also the [[#Business and economic development|Business and economic development]] section in this article.)''