Pond Springs Community and School
Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After James O. Rice settled in the 1850s near a spring-fed pond, the area was called "Pond Spring." By 1854 a log school building was erected near the pond (1 mi.N) and also served for worship and a social center. Thomas S. Rutledge ran a nearby store, post office and blacksmith shop. After the post office closed in 1880 and the Austin & Northwestern Railroad bypassed Pond Springs in 1882, the community declined. The school was consolidated in 1903 with Jollyville, moved to this site in 1927, and became part of the Round Rock district in 1969. (1979) supplemental plaque: In 2006, the Round Rock Independent School District moved this historical marker, commemorating the Pond Springs community and school, to this location, the fourth site of the Pond Springs School.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After James O. Rice settled near a spring-fed pond in the 1850s, a log schoolhouse rose beside it by 1854, doubling as church and social hall for the little community of Pond Spring. A store, post office, and blacksmith shop clustered nearby until the post office closed and the railroad bypassed the settlement in 1882, sending it into decline. The school itself endured, moving, consolidating, and finally joining the Round Rock district in 1969.
Why it matters
Pond Springs is a textbook case of how the railroad decided which rural crossroads thrived and which faded, while the one-room school outlived the community it once served.
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Related people
- · James O. Rice
- · Thomas S. Rutledge
Themes & tags
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