Rockdale, Texas

Everything Rockdale is known for

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Music in Rockdale

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Artists From Rockdale

P
Pee Wee Crayton
blues Pop: 45

Rivers & Roads in Song near Rockdale

Songs written about the waterways and highways that run near Rockdale.

Brazos River 16 songs Interstate 35 27 songs Texas Colorado River 6 songs

History of Rockdale

Rockdale, TX RoadyGoat

Rockdale sits nestled in the heart of the post oak savanna, its story deeply intertwined with the land itself. The town owes its existence to the railroad, arriving in 1874 and transforming a scattering of homesteads into a proper town—a place to ship cotton and cattle, a place to buy supplies. Even the name, Rockdale, speaks to the terrain that shaped it, different from the blackland prairie to the east. But it was the discovery of lignite coal that really put Rockdale on the map in the 20th century. That black gold fueled an enormous aluminum smelting plant, bringing jobs and transforming the town's economy for decades. While the plant is now closed, and agriculture remains a key part of the economy, Rockdale still carries that industrial legacy in its bones. You can feel it in the broad streets, designed to handle heavy trucks, and in the faces of the people who remember a time of boom. Today, visitors might come for the small-town charm, the quiet escape from city life. But ask a local why people stay, and they’ll tell you it's the community, the shared history, the enduring spirit of a town that has weathered booms and busts, and still calls itself home. And, of course, they'll probably mention that '97 state football championship at Rockdale High. That's still talked about a lot.

Rockdale, TX RoadyGoat

Rockdale's a place where the past feels close, a living thing. Drive around, and you’ll see the post oak savanna stretching out, much like it did when the Tonkawa called this land home. But the real story, for me anyway, is the people who left their mark here. We’re not talking about sprawling cities with endless lists of famous names, but a few folks who carried a piece of Rockdale with them.

Rockdale, TX RoadyGoat

Rockdale's always been a town tied to industry and the land. For decades, the Alcoa plant dominated the landscape, both physically and economically. You could see it for miles, those towering structures a testament to the jobs it provided. But when Alcoa closed in 2008, it left a hole bigger than any mine pit. Folks worried about the future, about how a town of around 5,300 could possibly recover from such a blow. It was a tough time, no doubt, but Rockdale's got a resilience you can't deny. Now, you see a different kind of energy, a cautious optimism. The old Alcoa land is being repurposed, attracting new kinds of businesses. Agriculture, of course, remains a constant, just like the post oak savanna that surrounds us. But there's a renewed focus on small business, on creating a future that isn't dependent on one single giant. And you still hear the echoes of the past, too. It’s a slow climb, but there's a feeling that Rockdale's finding its footing again, building on its history while looking ahead.

Ganzabal, Juan José de

1748

Juan José de Ganzabal, a missionary priest in Spanish Texas , was assigned to the College of Santa Cruz de Querétaro , a Franciscan institution in Mexico. He and Father Mariano Francisco de los Dolores y Viana were staunch advocates of the San Xavier missions , on the San Gabriel River near the site of present Rockdale, Texas. It fell to Father Ganzabal to make special pleadings with the auditor de guerra for crown support of the missions and a presidio to guard them. That task occupied him in Mexico City for eight months in 1748. Despite opposition in Texas from Governor Pedro del Barrio Junco y Espriella , by July 1749 three missions had been established on the San Gabriel River. Ganzabal was the first regular missionary at San Ildefonso Mission, where he directed his initial efforts toward the recruitment of several bands of Orcoquiza Indians. In May 1750 a horrible smallpox epidemic spread through neophytes of the mission, and Father Ganzabal could do little other than minister to the needs of the dying. After the establishment of San Francisco Xavier de Gigedo Presidio in 1751 and appointment of Capt. Felipe de Rábago y Terán as its commander, the status of the missions deteriorated rapidly under the influence of the roguish captain. When matters came to a head over an adulterous affair between Rábago and the wife of soldier Juan José Ceballos and the immoral conduct of the garrison, Ganzabal delivered Father Miguel de Pinilla 's decree of excommunication and posted it at the gate of the presidio. But within a few days, Ganzabal granted absolution and penance to the repentant soldiers. Matters, however, continued to worsen at the San Gabriel outposts. On May 11, 1752, Ceballos and Ganzabal died, respectively, of gunshot and arrow wounds at Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission. The attack was almost certainly instigated by Rábago but was blamed on Coco Indians. Ganzabal was one of only a few Franciscans to suffer violent death in Texas. His murder stands alone as the extreme expression of marred relations between the missionary clergy and presidial soldiers on the frontier of Spain in America.

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Rabago y Teran, Felipe de

1750

Felipe de Rábago y Terán, Spanish soldier, was likely born in New Spain during the third decade of the eighteenth century. A contemporary, Texas Governor Jacinto de Barrios y Jáuregui in remarking about Rábago's early life, noted that he had acquired a good deal of wealth from the mines of Zacatecas and that he possessed more money than judgment. Rábago first appears in the written record at the exact mid-point of the 1700s. On March 6, 1750, King Ferdinand VI designated him as commander of a proposed presidio in Central Texas, soon to be named San Francisco Xavier de Gigedo. En route to his post, which he reached in December 1751, Rábago, then a young man in his early thirties, scandalized the Franciscans in his party by engaging in licentious relations with Indian and Hispanic women, whether married or single. After conducting a brief survey of three San Xavier missions in January 1752, Rábago urged their removal from the San Gabriel River near modern Rockdale, Texas, to a more favorable site on the San Marcos River, but the missionaries adamantly rejected his request. This disagreement, which forced Rábago to build the presidio where he did not wish it to be, as well as his salacious relationship with the wife of Juan José Ceballos, a tailor from San Antonio, prompted heated quarrels with the Franciscans. Those differences and other disputes between presidials and clerics led to the temporary excommunication of Rábago and the entire San Xavier garrison in late February 1752. On May 11, 1752, Ceballos and Father Juan José de Ganzabal were murdered at Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Mission, and Rábago was suspiciously linked to their deaths. He was removed from command and sent to Presidio Santa Rosa del Sacramento in Monclova, where he languished for eight years while charges against him were investigated. Following the destruction of Santa Cruz de San Sabá Mission in 1758 and the subsequent removal of Diego Ortiz Parrilla as commander of San Luis de las Amarillas Presidio, Rábago, on June 7, 1760, was exonerated in the double murder case and selected as Parrilla's replacement. He reached the San Saba River on September 30, and took charge of the presidio on the following day. Among his most important accomplishments there was the replacement of the wooden presidio with an impressive rectangular fortress of mortar and stone, which he completed in late 1761. During his long confinement at Monclova, Rábago appears to have experienced a remarkable transformation that has puzzled his most harsh critics. He demonstrated "a great change of heart" by committing himself to the conversion and missionizing of the Lipan Apaches. To this end he recruited Father Diego Jiménez , president of missions on the Rio Grande, to assist him in founding two new missions on the upper Nueces River in present-day Uvalde and Real Counties. Known collectively as the El Cañón missions, these religious outposts enjoyed modest success in the 1760s. At the same time, the presidio at San Sabá came under relentless attacks from Comanches, mortal enemies of the Lipan Apaches. To defend the garrison and the two missions, Rábago expended more than 12,000 pesos of his own money. In the spring of 1768, under almost constant threats by the Comanches, soldiers and their families dared not plant fresh vegetables and other crops beyond the presidio's protective walls. Limited in diet, the residents and Rábago himself suffered horribly from scurvy. In desperation, Rábago abandoned his post and relocated the garrison near one of the missions. When the viceroy learned of the unauthorized move, he ordered Rábago back to San Sabá, but Rábago refused to comply. Leaving the upper Nueces, he traveled to Coahuila seeking supplies for his troops and the mission residents. There in April 1769 he learned of his replacement at San Sabá by Manuel Antonio de Oca y Alemán . From Coahuila, Rábago set out for Mexico City, where he hoped to obtain recompense for expenditures of his ow

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Christian, Benjamin Theodore [Ben]

1930

Fiddler and band leader Benjamin Theodore Christian was born on a farm near Rockdale, Texas, on June 1, 1885, the fifth of nine children of Charles S. and Anne E. (Murray) Christian. Affectionately known as "Uncle Ben" to a later generation of country music fans, Christian probably learned to play the fiddle from an older brother. Although most of his siblings played instruments, only his younger brother Elwood (Elmer) also established a musical career. Before entering the music field, Christian engaged in a number of business activities, including bookkeeping and sales. While performing with a traveling medicine show , he met and married Rose Lee Franklin in Port Neches in 1928. They remained married until his death in 1956. This and a previous marriage produced three sons. Christian entered the Houston music scene in the early 1930s, when Fort Worth-based western swing was attracting growing audiences over the radio waves. For a time he teamed with guitarists Dave Melton and Lynn Henderson at house parties. Ben and Henderson organized the Bar X Cowboys, named by radio announcer Harry Greer, with Ben as business manager and lead fiddler and Elwood on fiddle and bass. Although offering no pay for the band, the live programs, variously on KTRH, KPRC, and KXYZ, provided free advertising for dances within the approximately 200-mile range of the radio stations. Performing cowboy and country songs in addition to western swing, the Bar X Cowboys became one of the most popular aggregations in the vibrant coastal region, competing with such major talents as Pappy Selph , Cliff Bruner , Moon Mullican , and Shelly Lee Alley . Ted Daffan , a pioneer in the electrification of instruments and charter member of the Nashville Song Writers Association Hall of Fame for compositions "Born To Lose," "Truck Driver's Blues," and a host of other hits, played steel guitar for the band before organizing his Texans in 1940. Although primarily a dance band, the Bar X Cowboys made a number of records with Decca, including Christian's "Rockdale Rag," in Dallas studios. Some of the selections have been reproduced recently in country music albums. In 1940 Christian turned over the Bar X Cowboys to Elwood to form the Texas Cowboys, which he managed until his retirement. The new band continued the success of its predecessor, with Richard "Jerry" Jericho, a later performer on Shreveport's Louisiana Hayride , as principal vocalist. Christian broadcast on KNUZ and KLEE until disk jockeys replaced the local live bands in the late forties. During that decade the Texas Cowboys performed at leading Houston venues, such as Cook's Hoedown, Eagles' Hall, and Polish Hall (later known as Fitzgerald's), in addition to rural communities. Hank Thompson , Hank Locklin, Floyd Tillman , Hank Snow, and Elton Britt made guest appearances with the band. The Texas Cowboys shared the bandstand in "battle dances" with Bob Wills , Adolf Hofner , and Jesse James. Christian and the band provided instrumentation for Hank Williams on one of his last area tours and permitted a young Elvis Presley to gain experience with them before an audience at Magnolia Gardens. Declining health and lessening opportunities for local bands persuaded Christian to transfer the Texas Cowboys to Jericho in 1954. Ben Christian's death, at his Houston residence on March 27, 1956, closed a musical career that had spanned the golden age of string dance bands on the Texas Gulf Coast. He was buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Houston.

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Site of Mundine Hotel

1880

The Mundine Hotel stood on this site from its construction in 1880 until its destruction by fire in 1888. Completed six years after Rockdale incorporated along the International & Great Northern rail line, the hotel was built near the depot to accommodate rail travelers. John Mundine of Lexington, Texas, built the inn, and it opened in 1881 under the management of Dr. and Mrs. W. A. Brooks. The fire that destroyed the three-story structure also killed 11 of its 13 occupants. Never rebuilt, the Mundine Hotel remains a part of Rockdale's history and its significant association with the railroad. (2001)

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George Sessions Perry

1910

The son of Andrew and Laura Perry, George Sessions Perry was born May 5, 1910, in Rockdale. In 1933, he married Claire Hodges of Beaumont. Four years later, he published the first in a long line of fiction and non-fiction stories and novels, many of which were based on people and events from his growing-up years in Rockdale. As a World War II correspondent, he brought first-hand accounts of the war to readers of "The New Yorker" and "The Saturday Evening Post." Perry won several major awards, including the 1941 National Book Award, before his death in 1956-57.

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Jewish Cemetery

1877

The International & Great Northern Railroad reached the new town of Rockdale in January 1874. Among the early residents were brothers Benjamin and Joseph Lowenstein, who opened a mercantile from a tent before the railroad arrived. They and their families were part of a larger contingent of Jewish settlers in the area. By 1879, a reported 100 Jewish residents lived in Rockdale, which boasted an active B' nai B' rith Lodge. In August 1877, Benjamin and Carrie Lowenstein's son Arthur died and was buried at this site. The following November, the Hebrew Benevolent Association bought the land for use as a dedicated Jewish burial ground. Among those interred here are Henry Goldsticker, a Confederate veteran, and Issac Crown, who died in a disastrous fire in 1888 at Rockdale's Mundine Hotel. One grave, that of Isaac Ensheimer, was placed in a separate part of the cemetery; Ensheimer committed suicide in 1884. The final burial occurred in 1939 and is that of Morris Cohn. The site is a reminder of Rockdale's diverse history. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2004

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Things to Do in Rockdale

food 16.4 mi away
Snow's BBQ

Texas Monthly's #1 BBQ. Only open Saturday mornings in tiny Lexington.
quirky 23.0 mi away
Texas Chain Saw Massacre Gas Station

The original 1974 filming location is now a BBQ restaurant. Life imitates art.
food 24.7 mi away
Louie Mueller Barbecue

Taylor's legendary BBQ since 1949. The soot-blackened walls tell the story.

Sports in Rockdale

🏆 STATE CHAMPIONS Class 3A · Football · 2017

Rockdale — 2017 UIL 3A Division 1 Football State Champions

Most recent: 45-29 over Brock · 2017 3A Division 1 final

The Rockdale Tigers, representing Rockdale High School in Class 3A football, have established a notable presence in Texas high school sports. Their program is a source of pride for the community, reflecting the dedication and spirit found in this part of Central Texas. The Tigers compete with intensity and have shown their ability to perform at the highest levels of UIL competition.

Rockdale High School's football team has achieved the ultimate goal in Texas high school football, bringing home a state championship. This accomplishment highlights the consistent effort and teamwork fostered within the program. The Tigers continue to be a focal point for local sports enthusiasts.

State titles
2017
Most recent
2017, 45-29
Class
3A
The moment

The Rockdale Tigers secured the 2017 3A Division 1 state championship by defeating Brock with a score of 45-29.

Sources: UIL State Championship Archives · SI High School (ScoreBook Live)

Everything Near Rockdale

161 stories, landmarks & places within ~20 miles — the same local lore RoadyGoat plays as you drive through.

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