The History of Round Mountain, Texas

Round Mountain History

Round Mountain is uncommonly rich in both natural beauty and history. It offers the breathtaking landscape of Texas Hill Country, from tangerine sunsets to star-filled nights. It also has plenty of free-roaming wildlife and natural wonders to keep you entertained. Round Mountain features a melting pot of cultural influence from a myriad of traditions that make it a truly unique place to be.

Prussian Establishment

Its known origins go as far back as Edward Ebeling, who immigrated to America from Prussia and established what is now Round Mountain Reserve. This beautiful piece of land in the Texas Hill Country was kept in the Ebeling family for over 150 years before becoming the backdrop for your new home.

If you look a little closer, you can see the remnants of the original settlers of Round Mountain, long before Ebeling made his voyage across the ocean. They rest in the ancient limestone as fossils that many visitors come across while exploring the land. You too can see these little treasures first hand if you hike Round Mountain Park and the surrounding areas.

Fossil History of Round Mountain, Texas

Like elsewhere in Hill Country, Round Mountain’s geography is full of tiny seashells. It’s difficult to imagine that water once covered central Texas, but the geographic history shows that a shallow sea existed during the Mesozoic Era. In fact, our famous Texas limestone was developed from the calcium carbonate in sea organisms that would sink to the ocean floor when they died.

Look carefully at the limestone around Hill Country, and you will see the imprints of bivalves (such as clams) imprinted in the fossiliferous limestone. You’ll also see the impression of gastropods (or snails), crabs, corals, and sea urchins in the rock.

Human History of Round Mountain, Texas

The earliest signs of human habitation in the Round Mountain area can be traced back to around 1150 AD when possible ancestors of the Lipan Apache camped in what would become the Blanco County area. The Lipan Apaches, who had migrated from the Northwest, may have been in the area when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.

Spanish Texas

By the 1700s, the Commanchees and Spanish ruled the region. Spanish Friar Benito Fernández de Santa Ana proposed a mission be built along the Pedernales River in 1721. Around the same time, José de Azlor y Virto de Vera, the governor of the Mexican provinces of Coahuila and Texas, named the Blanco River.

During the Spanish reign, Anglo-Americans were invited to settle in the region to push back the Comanche living there.

Mexican Texas

When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, Mexican Texas was part of the new nation. As payment for his help in gaining independence, Benjamin Milam was given a contract to settle 300 families between the Colorado and Guadalupe rivers in 1826.

Republic of Texas

The Anglo-Americans living in the region chafed under Mexican rule. The Texans fought for their independence, and the Republic of Texas was born in 1836. German immigrants began to colonize the area around this time. Many from the American south moved to Texas, leaving behind G.T.T. (Gone to Texas) signs next to their overworked fields.

As German immigrants and U.S. southerners entered the region, the Comanches and their allies were still in control of the area. As a result, the Comanches conducted raids on frontier settlements. One such attack, led in 1836, was focused on a settlement near the Navasota River. Comanches and their Kiowa allies killed several settlers and took five hostages, including a nine-year-old who ended up living with the Comanches for twenty-four years.

Sam Houston, the first president of the Republic of Texas, attempted to establish peace and friendship between the two groups through commerce, but his policies were never wholly successful.

Texas as a part of the United States

Texas became a part of the United States in 1845 when it entered the Union as the 28th state. However, the conflict between the native peoples and the new settlers did not end at this time.

Another attempt at peace came in 1847 with the Meusebach–Comanche Treaty. This treaty was between German immigrants and the Penateka Comanches. The treaty’s provisions allowed settlers led by John Meusebach to go unharmed into the Comancheria and for the Penateka Comanche to go to the white settlements. Both sides promised to curtail their lawbreakers.

Birdtown

In 1854, Joseph Bird established Birdtown. The name was changed to Round Mountain when a post office opened in the late 1850s, with the name coming from the nearby geological feature.

But in August of 1873, ranchers living in the area set out to find Native American horse thieves, which they found on top of Pack Saddle Mountain. There was a fight between the two groups, which resulted in three Native Americans losing their lives and four of the eight settlers wounded. After this battle, there were fewer raids on the settlements.

Round Mountain, Texas

By the 1880s, the Round Mountain region was an established health resort, bringing visitors and businesses to the area. The Round Mountain Stagecoach Inn, built in 1874, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Other historical buildings and Texas homes that have survived the area include the 1854 cabin of Joseph Bird and the Methodist Church constructed in 1876.

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