Organizations | Museums | Collections | General | Books

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 contact us at 512-218-5428 if you would like to suggest a link.

Preservation organizations 
Government 
Round Rock Historic Preservation Commission 512-218-5428 
Williamson County Historical Commission 512-863-2202 
Texas Historical Commission  512-463-6100
National Park Service Heritage Preservation Services  
Private 
Old Settlers Association 3300 Palm Valley Blvd., 512-388-1733 
The OSA was named a 1990 Local Legend. Association grounds include log cabins, historic barn, Fire House Museum, and the Palm Mansion
Georgetown Heritage Society 811 S. Main Street, Georgetown 512-869-8597 
Texas State Historical Association 940-369-5200  
Austin History Center Association 512-974-7499 
Heritage Society of Austin 512-474-5198     

Historical Museums 
Palm House Museum 212 E. Main Street, 512-255-5805  (also houses the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce)
Old Settlers Association 3300 Palm Valley Blvd., 512-388-1733 
The OSA was named a 1990 Local Legend. Association grounds include log cabins, historic barn, Fire House Museum, and the Palm Mansion  
The Williamson Museum 716 S. Austin Avenue, Georgetown, 512-943-1670
The Williamson Museum offers free and exciting hands-on educational programs through innovative exhibits, tours, and events, in addition to their on-site collections. Refer to their website for an event and exhibit schedule. 
Pioneer Farms Living History Park, 10621 Pioneer Farms Dr., Austin, 512-837-1215
Pioneer Farms offers tours and activities of its properties recreating five periods of Texas history, complete with hand crafts and live farm animals. Refer to the website for their schedule of tours, classes, programs, and activities.   
Dan Moody Museum 114 W. 9th Street, Taylor 512-352-3463 
Birthplace of the Williamson County District Attorney who fought the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s  
The Story of Texas: The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, 1800 N. Congress Avenue, Austin, 512-936-8746 
Texas Memorial Museum Texas History Collections/Artifacts, The University of Texas at Austin 512-495-4532

Historic properties & events
Historic Round Rock Guide & Walking Tour (pdf) (Round Rock Chamber of Commerce)
Sam Bass and the Great Round Rock Shootout of July 19, 1878 (pdf)
Texas Historic Sites Atlas (Texas Historical Commission)
The Handbook of Texas Online (Texas State Historical Association)
National Register of Historic Places (National Park Service)

Collections and archives  
Round Rock Library Genealogy & Local History Collection 512-218-7000 
Eugene C. Barker Texas History Collection, Univ. Texas at Austin 512-495-4532 
Austin History Center 810 Guadalupe, Austin 512-974-7480    
Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, Univ. Texas at Austin. 
The collection includes many Sanborn insurance maps that offer detailed infromation about buildings and property.  The maps can be viewed online at http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/texas.html

General local historic information  
Round Rock Library Genealogy & Local History Collection 512-218-7000
     Round Rock Library Round Rock History Resources     
     Round Rock Library Sam Bass Resources  
     Round Rock Library Genealogy Research  
Three-Legged Willie (history and genealogy of Williamson County)  
Chronology of burials in Round Rock Cemetery  
Swedes in Texas in Words and Pictures, 1838-1913 (translation of a 1918 history of Swedish settlement in Central Texas 
Legend of the Hairy Man     
Round Rock Chamber of Commerce 212 E. Main Street, 512-255-5805  
Legacy of Sam Bass (Impact News article)  
Round Rock Ghost Tours   
RoundRockBooks.com  (Texas history books by Karen R. Thompson)

Books about local history  
All are available at the Round Rock Library, and many are available for purchase at local book vendors.

Dan Moody: Crusader for Justice.  Ken Anderson, 2008. Biography of the Williamson County District Attorney who fought the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s

You Can’t Do That, Dan Moody!: The Klan Fighting Governor of Texas.  Ken Anderson, 1998. Young adult book about the Williamson County District Attorney who fought the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s

The Immortal Ten: the Definitive Account of the 1927 Tragedy and Its Legacy at Baylor University.  Ted Copeland.  Baylor University Press, 2007.  ISBN-13: 978-1932792904  Account of the bus-train accident on Round Rock’s Mays Street that took the lives of 10 members of the Baylor basketball team 

Images of America: Round Rock.  Bob Brinkman, 2008.  ISBN-13-978-0738556413  Available locally and online

Postcards of America: Round Rock.  Bob Brinkman, 2008. ISBN-13 978-0738525480  Available locally and online 

Historic Williamson County: An Illustrated History.  John J. Leffler, 2000.  ISBN-13: 978-1893619098

Historical Round Rock, Texas: Sesquicentennial 1854-2004.  Martin Parker, 2004

Land of Good Water, Takachue Pouetsu: A Williamson County, Texas History.  Clara Stearns Scarborough, 1973, 1998  ISBN-13: 978-1571689153  Available from the Williamson County Sun and the Hill Country Book Store, Georgetown 

Road, River and Ol’ Boy Politics: A Texas County’s Path from Farm to Supersuburb. Linda Scarbrough, 2005. ISBN 0-87611-202-5.  National Council on Public History’s 2006 Best Book Award   

Historical Round Rock, Texas.  Karen R. Thompson and Jane H. DiGesualdo, 1985. ASIN: B0006YQURM  This book was named a 2006 Local Legend 

Historical Williamson County, Texas: A Pictorial History, 1848-2000.  Karen R. Thompson, 2000  ASIN: B0006RFKDY

Round Rock, Texas: From Cowboys to Computers.  Karen R. Thompson, 2002  ISBN-13: 978-1571687418