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Rockdale, Texas Little River Healthcare
System operates two medical facilities in Rockdale, Texas.
Click on the links below to access sections on these
facilities.
Rockdale
is located in Milam County in the heart of central Texas and
is famous for its ALCOA Rockdale Operations. Though it is
in close several metropolitan areas, Rockdale offers a small
town charm with home style roots. With an enrollment of
approximately 2,000 students, Rockdale ISD is a 3A school
district focused on student success. Rockdale and Milam
County are home to several historic sights including the
national trail, El Camino Real de los Tejas.
To learn
more about the Rockdale community, please visit the
Rockdale Chamber of Commerce
website.
Rockdale History
The sandy loams where Rockdale now stands were once the homeland
of the Tonkawa Indians in the sixteenth century. The Indians roamed
the prairie throughout Central Texas until the early part of the
eighteenth century, when expeditions by missionaries and
conquistadors brought the Spanish to Milam County. By 1755 Spanish
occupation of Milam County came to an end due to drought conditions
and disease. However, the Tonkawan were eventually squeezed out of
their homeland by advancing Comanches in the northwest and Anglo
settlers from the southeast. Pioneers settled permanently in
Rockdale in 1873 with the arrival of the railroad.
The International and Great Northern (I&GN) Railroad wanted to
extend its tracks westward from the city Hearne into Austin. In 1874
Rockdale became the terminus of the railroad for the next two years.
When the final tracks were laid hundreds of people flocked to the
area to watch the steam locomotive roll into town. Among those
people was Mrs. B.F. Ackerman, traveling by horseback via an old
wagon trail. Two miles north of the town, she spotted a rock
formation in the middle of the prairie. Standing atop of the
twelve-foot high rock, Mrs. Ackerman observed the railroad tracks
ended in an area that was nestled in a valley or dale. It was there
the name Rockdale was first used.
B. Loewenstein, Sr. was among the first settlers in Rockdale. He and
his wife, Carrie, moved to the area from Colorado County. He opened
a dry goods and grocery business in 1873 and established Rockdale
Brick Works and erected several brick buildings in the business
district, now Rockdale's downtown.
The town went from an agricultural community to an industrial one
virtually overnight when the Aluminum Company of America moved into
town in 1952. The city's population tripled when the largest
worldwide metals producer came into town to develop the area's vast
lignite reserves for aluminum production.
Just one year after Rockdale came into existence the Masonic Lodge
of Rockdale #414, AF & AM received its charter. As the first and
oldest organization in Rockdale, it set the standard for community
involvement. There are numerous clubs and organizations in Rockdale
for active community members to join, such as Rotary, Lions, Garden
and Matinee Musical clubs, VFW Post #6525, and Girl and Boy Scouts,
to name a few. The community of Rockdale has a long historical
tradition of service to others, and residents take pride in knowing
they make a difference.
Today, Rockdale is a bustling community with a diverse roster of
business and industry. A solid citizenry preserves its rich ethnic
heritage made up of Central Europeans, Germans, Mexicans, Czechs,
African Americans, and Jewish settlers. |
