Round Rock Volunteer Fire Department

A fire in 1879 destroyed ten buildings in a block of New Town, causing about $20,000 in damage. Afterward, new buildings were roofed to slant toward the rear, with cisterns in the alleys to catch rainwater for fighting fires. The volunteers bought a used hand pumper about 1890, probably from Austin, and kept it in service until about 1923. From 1941 to 1971 the town's women formed a pumper team and raced against other departments, as far away as Dallas. In 2007 the volunteers turned their territory over to the city, which had grown to nearly 100,000.

What the plaque says

Round Rock Volunteer Fire Department The Hose and Hand Pump Company was formed in 1884 as Round Rock's first organized fire department. Money for equipment was raised through donations, picnics, dances, box suppers, and other fund drives. The first building constructed for Round Rock's fire department was completed in 1892. About 1934, the department purchased its first piece of motor-driven equipment--a Model T Ford chassis. As one of the state's oldest volunteer fire departments, it continues to provide significant service to the citizens of Round Rock. (1984)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• The Round Rock — 1.3 mi
  A table-shaped stone in Brushy Creek gave Round Rock its name in 1854; the Chisholm Trail crossed the creek near it, and Old Town stayed behind when the railroad pulled the town east.
• Inner Space Cavern — 5.2 mi
  A Georgetown cave found in 1963 when highway engineers drilled test holes, holding Pleistocene fossils and 72-degree rooms that visitors reach by an artificial tunnel.
• Williamson County Courthouse — 7.3 mi
  The fifth Williamson County courthouse, a Beaux Arts building by C. H. Page, rises over a Georgetown square of more than 50 Victorian-era buildings.
• Mount Bonnell — 15 mi
  Austin's old lookout over the Colorado, named by an 1838 traveler, picnicked on by George and Libbie Custer, and reached by a 1939 flight of about 100 limestone steps.

More markers nearby

• In Memory of The Pioneer Builders — 1.1 mi
• Round Rock Cemetery — 1.2 mi
• Slave Burial Ground in Old Round Rock Cemetery — 1.2 mi
• The Round Rock — 1.3 mi