Round Mountain

Round Mountain is a small rural community located about twenty-four miles northwest of Austin in northwestern Travis County near the Williamson county line. This settlement began as a school community in the 1870s and was named for a nearby geographical landmark. A log building was constructed on land donated by J. R. Faubion. Early teachers included Minnie Watson, Josie Hickman, J. D. Stephen, and Rufus Smith. Residents erected a new school in 1888, which served rural children until it was destroyed by fire in 1929. A new building was constructed, and county highway maps during the 1930s showed the school, a cemetery, and dwellings in the region. The school also functioned as the site for community gatherings. In 1940 the school consolidated with Leander. By the late 1950s school alumni launched a project to restore the old building as a community center. The area remained rural into the 1980s. In 1990 the population was fifty-nine, a figure that remained constant through 2000. By that time Round Mountain was not shown on highway maps, but numerous residential roads crisscrossed the area, and Round Mountain Road commemorated the old settlement.