Located in a corner of Round Rock Cemetery off Sam Bass Road lies a solemn and powerful reminder of lives often left out of history—the Round Rock Slave Burial Ground. This half-acre plot, believed to have been established in the 1850s, was set aside for the burial of enslaved people and freedmen of Williamson County. A Texas Historical Commission marker was placed in 1979 where graves dating as early as 1851 were placed, with the earliest marked freedman’s grave being interred in 1880; burials ceased by the early 1900s.
A simple wooden sign with cedar posts marked its boundaries, giving only a hint of the historical significance within.
Unlike other African American cemeteries in the area, this burial ground was specifically designated for enslaved individuals and freedmen, making it one of the few of its kind in Texas. Some of the 40-50 known graves are missing formal tombstones and are only identified with large, limestone rocks, some with hand-carved inscriptions. A simple wooden sign with cedar posts marked its boundaries, giving only a hint of the historical significance within. Oral histories and genealogical research have helped uncover the names of those buried within…