Round Timber Community
Seymour, Baylor County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Named for round clumps of oaks. Pioneered by C. C. (Lum) Mills, 1863, but soon abandoned to Indians, site became the first permanent settlement in Baylor County when reopened in 1874 by T. K. Hamby, C. C. and W. B. Mills, John W. Stevens and Tom Whitworth. Post Office opened in 1879 with A. C. Burnham as postmaster. In school built in 1879, first teacher was Eliza Mitchell. Town had stores, barber and blacksmith shops, 1880s. The church was built by Methodists, 1879, sold to Baptists, 1933. The burial ground, dating from 1870, was deeded 1962 by J. Hop Parker to the cemetery association. Incise on back: Marker sponsored by Harry and Helen Portwood. 1972.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for its round clumps of oaks, Round Timber was first pioneered in 1863 but soon abandoned to Native resistance, then reopened in 1874 to become the first permanent settlement in Baylor County. A post office opened in 1879, and by the 1880s the town had stores, a school, a church, and craftsmen's shops. Its cemetery, dating from 1870, still marks the site of this pioneering community.
Why it matters
Round Timber's stop-and-start founding captures how North Texas settlement advanced only in fits and starts against the frontier's dangers before taking permanent hold.
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Related people
- · C. C. Mills
- · T. K. Hamby
- · John W. Stevens
Themes & tags
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