Site of Stony Point School
Round Rock, Williamson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Stony Point School was established in Williamson County by 1891. Children living in the rural area attended the school, which served students from grades one through eight. Most of the students were sons and daughters of families that emigrated from Sweden. For many of the children, attendance at school was their first exposure to English on a regular basis. As students learned and mastered English, they brought the new language home. Thus, the school assisted in breaking the language barrier for the newly arrived Swedes, helping to acclimate them to this land. In addition, the school gave many of the students, who often lived on farms, their only formal education. The school changed locations twice in its years of existence. The first location was in a one-room building on the Noack Ranch nicknamed Noack's Ark. The students affectionately called in Arken, Swedish for ark. The school later moved to locations west and southwest of the original site. In 1942, the school officially closed, as historic Stony Point merged with the Round Rock Independent School District. Still, alumni and teachers have gathered biennially to celebrate the former school. In 1999, a new high school opened in Round Rock, and a committee formed to recommend a name chose Stony Point in honor of the pioneer school. Stony Point High School stands as a modern structure in a growing district, but its name reflects a different time, when a small school served the residents of what was then a rural community. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Established in Williamson County by 1891, Stony Point School taught grades one through eight to the children of the surrounding countryside, most of them sons and daughters of Swedish immigrant families. For many pupils, the classroom was their first steady exposure to English, and they carried the new language home, helping their families settle into American life. The school moved twice — its first home nicknamed "Noack's Ark" — and closed in 1942 when it merged into the Round Rock district, later lending its name to a new high school.
Why it matters
It captures the quiet but vital role of the one-room country school in educating rural children and turning immigrant families into English-speaking Americans.
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Themes & tags
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