The Story of Old Town The Story of Old Town | Bibliography 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. Originally, Round Rock was not named Round
Rock, nor was it located where it currently is. Coincidence and
fate combined to determine the location of Round Rock. The
initial settlement of Brushy (as the town was originally called)
was located near the banks of Brushy Creek at the natural
fording area by the round rock. This settlement grew, despite a
succession of floods, and flourished until the coming of the
International and Great Northern Railroad in 1876 forced the
commercial area of Round Rock to move to the east, leaving the
original settlement to be referred to as Old Town forever more.
An early cabin now located in Old Settlers Park One of the first
settlers of what was to become Old Town was Jacob M. Harrell.
Harrell was Austin's first