History
Slavery, Settlement, and the Chisholm Trail in Round Rock, Texas
In the 1800s, the Round Rock area—then associated with Brushy Creek and the wider Williamson County frontier—developed within the same social and economic system that shaped much of antebellum Texas: land acquisition, farming, stock raising, and the forced labor of enslaved Black people. Williamson County’s enslaved population grew sharply during the 1850s, from 155 enslaved people in 1850 to 891 in 1860, as settlement expanded and the county’s economy increasingly reflected Southern plantation practices even though many residents were small farmers.
Local officials also organized patrols beginning in 1853 to watch for runaway enslaved people in places including Georgetown, Round Rock, Brushy Creek, Shiloh, and nearby settlements. Slaveholders brought enslaved people into Central Texas as part of family migrations from older Southern states and other parts of Texas. These enslaved men, women, and children were compelled to clear land, build homes and roads, tend livestock, cultivate crops, haul supplies, cook, wash, care for children, and perform the daily labor that made frontier farms and ranches possible.
In Round Rock and surrounding Williamson County communities, their presence is documented not only in census records and county patrol records, but also in the Old Round Rock Cemetery, where a half-acre burial ground was set aside in the 1850s for enslaved people and later freedmen.
The Chisholm Trail and Migration into Round Rock
Round Rock’s location on Brushy Creek made it a natural crossing point for wagons, livestock, and travelers. The town’s name came from the large limestone “round rock” in the creek that marked a low-water crossing. As cattle drives expanded after the Civil War, this crossing became part of the Chisholm Trail network, the route used to move Texas cattle north toward rail markets in Kansas. The trail brought cowboys, drovers, merchants, teamsters, ranch families, and immigrant settlers through the area, helping transform a rural crossing into a more visible frontier community.
Migration tied to the Chisholm Trail was not a single movement of people but a series of overlapping streams. Anglo-American settlers arrived seeking land and opportunity; Swedish immigrants settled in Williamson and Travis counties in notable numbers during the nineteenth century; ranching families used the trail to connect local cattle to distant markets; and Black Texans—some formerly enslaved and some working as cowboys, laborers, farmers, and community builders—helped sustain the economy that grew around travel, cattle, and trade. The trail made Round Rock a place of movement: cattle moved north, goods moved between settlements, and families followed roads that promised land, work, and community.
Black Pioneer Presence and Legacy
Documented direct quotations from named nineteenth-century Black pioneers who settled specifically in Round Rock are difficult to verify in readily available local sources. For historical accuracy, it is better not to invent a quote. Instead, the lives of Round Rock’s enslaved people, freedmen, and later Black community members can be honored through the surviving evidence of their presence: the Slave Burial Ground in Old Round Rock Cemetery, Hopewell-area African American heritage sites, Black churches, schools, family cemeteries, and oral histories preserved by local organizations.
A historically responsible line for the essay could read: “Though many of Round Rock’s earliest Black pioneers left few written words of their own, their labor, faith, land stewardship, and burial grounds speak across generations: they were builders of the community, not footnotes to it.”
Legal and recorded documents affirm that The Round Rock Colored Cemetery was purchased for $18.33 on November 11, 1889 by L. M. Mays and J. W. Black. The transfer of ownership was recorded and filed in the Williamson County Deed Records. Due to public and private controversy, the African American community saw the need to clarify and confirm ownership of the cemetery. An Affidavit of Possession was filed in Williamson County on August 1, 1964. The people filing the affidavit were W. H. Mays, Mrs. B. L. H. Bradshaw, and J. W. Bradshaw. They attested under oath that they were residents of Round Rock for over 40 years (early 1920’s). The document shows an updated survey was done at the same time. The 4 ½ acre tract of land is further described in said certificate by W. F. Forest, surveyor. This document was signed and notarized on the 1st day of August by the judge of Williamson County, C. V Lansberry. The cemetery has always been maintained by family members that have been buried on that sacred ground.
Starting in the mid 1970’s, the City of Round Rock, Parks and Recreations Department, has assisted by removing the “segregated” fencing which divided the Round Rock Cemetery from the Round Rock Colored Cemetery. They have continued to mow the grass at both cemeteries. Recently, a group of descendants of the cemetery saw the need to form a legal entity for maintaining the cemetery.
On March 13, 2026, the Hopewell Cemetery Association of Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas was formed. The non-profit corporation has been filed with the State of Texas. As President of the Non-Profit, I saw the need to officially change the name from Round Rock Colored Cemetery to Hopewell Cemetery. The Association voted to change the name. On March 27, 2026, the name change was officially completed by the Williamson County Tax Appraisal District. The Public-Private partnership with the City of Round Rock, Parks and Recreation Department continues to work hand in hand to upgrade the cemetery.
Harry Mercer,
President
Timeline
Purchase
The Round Rock Colored Cemetery Purchased by L. M. Mays and J. W. Black.
Land Survey Conducted
Affadavit and updated survey of the land was conducted.
Segregation Fencing Removed
Fencing removed between Round Rock Colored Cemetery and Round Rock Cemetery
Cemetery Surveyed
Formation of the Hopewell Cemetery Association
The non-profit corporation application for the Hopewell Cemetery Association of Round Rock submitted to the State. Hopewell Cemetery Association votes to rename the cemetery.
Cemetery Official Renaming
Williamson County officially completes the name change from Round Rock Colored Cemetery to Hopewell Cemetery.