Historic Architecture in Round Rock
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 architecture of the older sections of Round Rock is fairly typical for its time, although there are several outstanding exceptions. 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 show the progression of middle class housing styles from the 1870s through the present.
Downtown Business District
Most of the historic buildings along Main Street from Mays to Lampasas are of simple limestone construction. Door and window arches display few decorative features and the roof lines are either unadorned or have austere parapets.
105 E. Main Street
Built 1876
The roofline is horizontal and is set out a few inches from the face of the building.
121 E. Main Street
Built 1877
This building originally had a second story. Filled-in second floor windows are visible on the Lampasas side of the structure. Like 105 E. Main Street, the door arches are relatively flat and are symmetrically spaced.
112 E. Main Street
Built 1880
This building and 109 E. Main have high door and window arches and unadorned cornices.
109 E. Main Street
Built 1885
There are three two-story buildings in the downtown area that are significantly more architecturally sophisticated than the others. The Old Broom Factory, the Otto Reinke Building and the Masonic Lodge/Old Post Office Building have detailed parapets, ornate window and door arches and much finer stonework than the surrounding buildings. The Masonic Lodge is particularly interesting with an intricate pattern of oddly-cut limestone clocks and brick detailing on its face.
The Old Broom Factory
100 E. Main Street
Built 1880
This building has been restored. The leftmost door arch was removed when an auto shop was operated there. The work is almost undetectable.
Otto Reinke Building
102 E. Main Street
Built 1889
Notice the stylistic similarity between the decorations above the second floor windows on this building and the Masonic Lodge. the stone door arches are much more elaborate than the other buildings in downtown Round Rock.
Masonic Lodge/Old Post Office
107 S. Mays Street
Built 1878
The brick detailing on this building is unique in the downtown district.
J.A. Nelson Co.
201 E. Main Street
Built 1900
This building’s pressed tin front is attractively painted yellow with maroon and gray trim.
The J.A. Nelson Co. Building is also significantly more stylish than the other downtown structures. Its simple limestone construction is decorated with a Mesker Bros. facade of pressed iron and tin. This pre-manufactured front is an excellent example of a popular style of the early twentieth century. The building directly across Main Street also has a second story facade of pressed metal put up around 1907.
Round Rock Mercantile & Economy Drug Store
202 and 204 E. Main Street
Built 1907
The second story, not clearly visible in this photograph, is a pressed metal facade with a rough-hewn limestone block pattern.
116 E. Main Street
Built 1879
The diagonally-set tile on the parapet (the upper portion of the building) is a common feature of 1920’s brick fronts. The lighter brick is newer than the rest.
The two red brick buildings in the downtown are also limestone with facades put up around 1920-1930. The patterned brick was a popular style during the 1920s and these buildings are good examples. Details on the parapet of 116 E. Main are quite nice, and the multi-layered brick on 118 E. Main is very interesting.
118 E. Main Street
Built 1920
Notice the texture of the brick pattern. The alternating raised and recessed areas create an interesting effect.
Palm House Museum
212 E. Main Street
Built 1873
The oldest building on Main Street is the Palm House, now the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center. This house was moved to this location in 1976 from the Palm Valley area. The house is a well-preserved example of an early frontier building style: a central door and entry passage with one roughly square room on either side. The porch runs the length of the house and the roof is steeply pitched.
108-110 E. Main Street
Built 1880
The original ornate facade of this building was later covered with wood for an old-west image. In the 1990s the owners restored the facade
(left: 1938, center:1982, right: 2004).
Residential Areas
Nelson-Crier House (Woodbine Mansion)
405 E. Main Street
Built 1895-1900, remodeled 1931
The most interesting house in Round Rock is arguably the Nelson-Crier house just east of downtown. The building originally was in a Queen Anne style with a three-story turret at the northeast corner, but was later remodeled to a neoclassical style with an Ionic-columned porch. The foundation of the turret remains as a large patio. Drastic remodeling has not diminished the beauty of this house. (left: northeast corner ca. 1900, right: northwest corner ca. 2006).
Capt. Nelson Merrell House
1516 E. Palm Valley Blvd.
Built 1870-71
The Merrell House and the St. Charles Hotel building were built at roughly the same time and are very similar architecturally. They are essentially the two-story version of the Palm House at a somewhat larger scale and are examples of the reconstruction-era Greek Revival style. The square columns which support the second floor porch and the roof allude to the columns of the classical Greek Revival homes.
St. Charles Hotel
8 Chisholm Trail
Built 1850?
Old Stage Coach Inn
901 Round Rock Avenue
Built 1848-53
(left: circa 1910; right: 2010.
Other local homes with a similar structure to the Palm House are the Old Stage Coach Inn, the Barker-Porter House and others in the Neighborhood east of downtown. All these buildings date from 1850-1880.
Barker-Porter House
1113 Ledbetter Street
Built 1872?
More modern style houses began to be built in the 1890s. Below are photographs of several buildings which probably date before 1930, although only a brief examination of local residential architecture has been made. The houses pictured below need further study and research before their architectural and historical significance can be accurately assessed.
607 E. Main Street
Built 1920
President’s House,
Trinity Lutheran College
104 S. Georgetown
Built 1906?
Home built for the President of Trinity Lutheran College (site currently occupied by the Trinity Lutheran Home). The home was originally located at the corner of Main and College Streets.
Historical Markers In and Near Round Rock
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.
Historical Markers in and near Round Rock
There are many marked historical sites in and around Round Rock. Some have been designated as Texas Historic Landmarks and are on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of these properties display a National Register plaque, sometimes with explanatory text.
At this time Round Rock does not have an official plaque to indicate local designation, but a few properties have descriptive plaques provided by civic groups. Click image above to open a larger map. Additional information is available about some properties on the Historic Architecture page.
Legend | |
T | Texas Historical Marker with explanatory text Texas Historical Medallion (no text) Local Historical Marker with explanatory text |
| Key | Type | Site Name & Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | T | Andrew J. Palm House (Visitor Center/Chamber of Commerce) 212 E. Main Street |
| 2 | L | Dr. Dick Gregg Memorial 212 E. Main Street |
| 3 | T | J.A. Nelson Company 201 E. Main Street (Early Commercial Building) |
| 4 | T | Otto Reinke Building 102 E. Main Street |
| 5 | T | Old Broom Factory 100 E. Main Street (marker on the Mays side of the building) |
| 6 | T | Sam Bass Death Site In grass on the south side of Round Rock Avenue just west of Mays Street. The actual site of his death is directly across Round Rock Avenue. |
| 7 | L | Baylor Bus Crash Memorial Northeast corner or S. Mays Street and Bagdad Street. Erected by the State Highway Commission. |
| 8 | T | Nelson-Crier House 405 E. Main Street |
| 9 | T | Trinity Lutheran College 1000 E. Main Street (on the north side of the street, just east of College Street) |
| 10 | T | Kenney’s Fort South side of Palm Valley Road (US 79). |
| 11 | T | Double File Trail 2 miles east of Mays Street (US 81) on the south side of Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79) |
| 12 | T | Confederate Chaplains West of the entrance of Old Settler’s Park, 3 miles east of Mays Street (US 81) on the north side of Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79). |
| 13 | T | Palm Valley Lutheran Church 2500 Palm Valley Blvd |
| 14 | T | Anti-Slaveholding Union Baptist Cemetery 0.6 mile north of Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79) on the east side of FM 1460. |
| 15 | M | Washington Anderson House (El Milagro) Heritage Center Circle, off Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79), 0.2 mile east of Mays Street (US 81) |
| 16 | L | Texas Baptist Children’s Home Near the northeast corner of N. Mays (US 81) and Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79) |
| 17 | T | Pioneer Builders On the east side of N. Mays Street (US 81) just south of Palm Valley Blvd. (US 79) across from the entrance to the First United Methodist Church |
| 18 | T | Old Stagecoach Inn 901 Round Rock Avenue (marker missing) |
| 19 | M | Quick Residence 603 Chisholm Trail. |
| 20 | T | The Round Rock On the bridge over Brushy Creek on Chisholm Trail just north of Round Rock Avenue (RM 620). A local historical marker is nearby. |
| 21 | L | The City of Round Rock (Old Town) In the north side of the creekbed, just east of the Round Rock marker |
| 22 | T | William M. Owen House Complex (St. Charles Hotel) 8 Chisholm Trail |
| 23 | T | Round Rock Cemetery At the entrance of the cemetery on the north side of Sam Bass Road, 0.5 mile west of IH-35. Slave Burial Ground Marker is also located here. |
| 24 | T | Slave Burial Ground Mid-way along the west border of Round Rock Cemetery on the north side of Sam Bass Road, 0.5 mile west of IH-35. Round Rock Cemetery marker is also located here. |
| 25 | T | Bratton Cemetery On the south side of West Louis Henna Blvd., 0.6 mile west of IH-35 |
Downtown Historic District
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.
Downtown Historic District (National Register District)
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. More information about the history of downtown and its buildings are available in The Story of New Town and Historic Architecture. Click image for larger map.
| Key | Address | Construction Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old Broom Factory 100 E. Main Street | 1880 |
| 2 | Otto Reinke Building 102 E. Main Street | 1879 |
| 3 | 104 E. Main Street | 1949 |
| 4-5 | 108 & 110 E. Main Street | 1880 |
| 6 | 112 E. Main Street | 1880 |
| 7 | 114 E. Main Street | 1880, facade replaced ca. 1960 |
| 8 | 116 E. Main Street | 1880? |
| 9 | Farmers State Bank 118 E. Main Street | 1920 |
| 10 | The Mercantile 200 E. Main Street | 1902-1909 |
| 11 | Economy Drug Store 204 E. Main Street | 1902-1909 |
| 12 | Dr. Dick Gregg’s Office 206 E. Main Street | ca. 1930 |
| 13 | Palm House/Chamber of Commerce 212 E. Main Street | 1873, moved to present location 1973 |
| 14 | J.A. Nelson Co. 201-203 E. Main Street | 1900 |
| 15 | Carrington Building 121 E. Main Street | 1877 |
| 16 | 119 E. Main Street | 1881 |
| 17 | 117 E. Main Street | 1891 |
| 18 | 115 E. Main Street | 1885 |
| 19 | 113 E. Main Street | ca. 1920, extensively altered |
| 20 | 111 E. Main Street | 1916-1925 |
| 21 | 109 E. Main Street | 1885 |
| 22 | 105 E. Main Street | 1876 |
| 23 | 103 E. Main Street | 1876 |
| 24 | Kopperal’s (Koppel’s) Store 101 E. Main Street | 1876 |
| 24 | Bus Depot 105 S. Mays | |
| 25 | Old Post Office/Masonic Lodge 107 S. Mays Street | 1878 |
Historic sites in the Chisholm Trail area
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.
Historic Properties on Chishom Trail Road
Round Rock was first established where the Chisholm Trail crossed Brushy Creek. The low water crossing was marked with a round, table-shaped rock that gave the town its name. Later the railroad was extended to a location 3/4 mile away, and commercial activity followed. The area by the station then became known as New Town (now Downtown) and the original settlement as Old Town. Click image to open a larger map.
| Key | Address | Construction Date |
|---|---|---|
| A | Awald House 20 Chisholm Trail Dailey Store 18 Chisholm Trail | ca. 1920 ca. 1920 |
| B | Sellstrom House 14 Chisholm Trail/1 Poker Alley | Built between 1853-1864 Additions 1934 and 1971 |
| C | St. Charles Hotel Post Office/Harris Store 8 Chisholm Trail | ca. 1867-1870 ca. 1851-1853 |
| D | Harris/Ross House 4 Chishom Trail | ca. 1849, later additions |
| E | Sansom House 2 Chisholm Trail | pre-1890; probably between 1850-1876 Gutted ca. 1973, enclosed 2006 |
| F | Inn at Brushy Creek 1000 N. IH-35 | ca. 1850-1862, later additions |
| G | McNabb-Quick House 603 Chisholm Trail | ca. 1853, later additions |
| H | Todd Residence/ Mexican Schoolhouse 716 Chisholm Trail | ca. 1934, demolished 1994 |
| I | The Round Rock |
Downtown Placards
About the Placards
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.
The placards were funded in part with a Certified Local Government grant from the Texas Historical Commission, and frames were donated by the Faulk family. For more information on the program, contact Joelle Jordan in the Planning & Development Services Department at 512-218-5428.
View the Placards
Click on the address below to open a pdf of the placard.
| Address | Built date | Name |
| 107 S. Mays Street | 1878 | Old Post Office/Masonic Lodge |
| 100 E. Main Street | 1880 | Broom Factory Building |
| 101 E. Main Street | 1876 | Koppel’s Store |
| 102 E. Main Street | 1878 | Otto Reinke Building |
| 103 E. Main Street | 1876 | Williams Grocery Store |
| 104 E. Main Street | 1947 | Round Rock Insurance |
| 105 E. Main Street | 1876 | Johnson Drug Store |
| 108-110 E. Main Street | 1880 | Dieckman Groceries |
| 109 E. Main Street | 1884 | Saloon/Stockbridge Grocery |
| 111 E. Main Street | 1887 | The Red Front |
| 112 E. Main Street | 1881 | Morgan Miller Store |
| 113 E. Main Street | ca. 1920 | Photography Studio/Marble Works |
| 114 E. Main Street | ca. 1882 | Grocery Store |
| 115 E. Main Street | 1884 | Johansen Saloon and Billiards |
| 116 E. Main Street | 1879 | Saloon/The Rock Theater |
| 117 E. Main Street | 1886 | Robinson Building/The Fair |
| 118 E. Main Street | 1920 | Farmer’s State Bank |
| 119 E. Main Street | 1881 | Montedonico Building |
| 121 E. Main Street | 1882 | Carrington Building |
| 200 E. Main Street | 1907 | Round Rock Mercantile |
| 201-203 E. Main Street | 1900 | J.A. Nelson Hardware Building |
| 202 E. Main Street | 1907 | Weiss Store/Carlson’s Dry Goods |
| 204 E. Main Street | 1907 | Economy Drug Store/Quick Pharmacy |
| 206 E. Main Street | ca. 1930 | Dr. Dick Gregg’s Office |
