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History in
a Pecan Shell
In 1854 Joseph
Bird arrived here and made his home alongside the creek. A post
office opened in the late 1850s with the name coming from a nearby
topographical feature. The community was a stop on the stage line
between Fredericksburg
and Austin.
By the 1880s, Round Mountain was an established health resort and
the local businesses reflected the out-of-town clientele, while maintaining
the necessary businesses for the year-round residents. The 1890 census
reported 200 people which doubled by 1896.
After 1900 a decline set in. From its peak of 400 residents, it fell
to 100 in the 1920s and remained there for years. Churches closed
and in 1931 the local school merged with those in Johnson
City’s ISD.
In 1950 it remained at 100 but by 1952 it was down to 80. Twenty years
later it reached 73 people. It didn’t stop there. The 1990 Census
reported a new low of 59.
In 1989 Round Mountain incorporated.
The National Register of Historic Places has entered the 1874 Round
Mountain Stagecoach Inn into its rolls. The 1854 cabin of Joseph Bird
has been restored, as has the 1876 Methodist church.
Photographer's Note:
Round Mountain is located on FM 962 just east of US 281, 11 miles
northeast of Johnson City. The
Aluminum Historical marker states that there was once a store, hotel
and Post Office here. No mention is made of the church. This marker
is probably the one seen in front of the church. - Barclay
Gibson |
 |
| "The cover
from Round Mountain was sent by town founder Joseph Bird's son James
Thomas Bird - to George Washington Custis Lee, who was at the time
the president of Washington & Lee University. The notation on the
envelope indicates that as early as 1872 the community was soliciting
recommendations for a teacher to come to the little community in the
Hill Country." -
John J. Germann, Jan. 7, 2022 |
Historical Marker
- US 281 East 1/8 miles on RR 962
Joseph Bird
(July 15, 1821-August
15, 1909)
For more than 50 years after becoming a pioneer settler
of this area, North Carolina native Joseph Bird greatly contributed
to the development of Blanco
County as a distinguished frontier Baptist minister, postmaster,
Civil War soldier, county judge, rancher, and prominent community
leader. Bird married Eliza L. Doriss in Arkansas in 1844. About 1854
they and their six children settled on land between Cypress Creek
and the Pedernales
River. They built a log cabin close to this site about 1858 and
eventually their family grew to include 12 children.
The area's pioneer settlement, called Birdtown in Joseph's
honor, was renamed Round Mountain by the time a post office
was established here in 1857. Bird served as postmaster in 1859-66
and in 1873-74. For the Baptist churches he helped found in the area
Bird served as an itinerant pastor and performed marriages, baptisms,
and funeral services. He enlisted in the Confederate army as a first
lieutenant in 1862 and was stationed at Camp Groce, Waller
County, Texas. Bird moved to Johnson
City while serving his two terms as Blanco county judge in the
early 1890s. Eliza Bird died in 1896 and in 1900 Joseph married Martha
A. Gill. Bird was buried in the Round Mountain Cemetery.
(1994) |
Historical Marker
- 265 Bird Lane, Round Mountain (off FM 962)
Joseph and
Eliza Bird Residence
Once home to area
pioneer Joseph Bird, his
wife Eliza, and their extended family, portions of this house date
to the mid-1850s. Two single-pen log cabins, built at different times
and exhibiting different construction techniques, eventually were
joined together to form a dogtrot cabin under one roof, with limestone
chimneys at the east and west ends. By the 1880s, the family built
a half-story addition and full-length porch on the front, and shed
rooms at the rear. Vertical cypress siding covered the exterior until
a 1980s renovation revealed much of the original log construction.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2005 |
1907 Postal map
showing Round Mountain in northern Blanco
County close to Llano
and Burnett County
lines
From Texas state map #2090
Courtesy
Texas General Land Office |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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