Galveston Daily News – Fri., 21 Sept 1877, p. 5, c. 7 "Rockdale" In Milam county, about 20-miles West of Brazos river, about 16-miles South of Cameron, the county seat of Milam county, was opened for business in Feb. 1874 and now has a population of 1,500. There are two hardware stores, two drug stores, six dry goods stores, eight grocery stores, and others; one church building and three schools. The Odd Fellows are erecting a two-story house, the lower room for school purposes and the upper for the Lodge room. There are ten brick business houses now in the course of erection. Rockdale gets trade from the counties of Milam, Bell, Lee, Burleson and a portion of Williamson. The greater part of this county, especially the southern part, is timbered, the northern and Western parts being prairie. Corn, cotton, oats, wheat and millet are grown, and yields are, 60 to 100 bushels per acre; corn, 30 to 50 bushels; cotton, ½ to 1 bale; wheat, 15 to 25 bushels; millet, 2 to 3 tons. Fruit and vegetables grow well. The western part of this county is well adapted to raising cattle and sheep, the prairies yielding rich grass, the timber affording shelter from the occasional northers which visit it. The rich bottoms of the Brazos river on the east and the Little river, which runs through the center of the county afford thousands of acres of land unsurpassed in any country for fertility and endurance. lands vary in price from $2 to $23 per acre. In this county the timber upon the land bought is usually sufficient to fence it and build a log house. Near this town it is thought that the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe [rail]road, when built, will cross the International and Great Northern railroad. Lands can be rented at $5 per acre, money rent; or for one- third of corn and one-quarter of cotton; or where the landlord furnishes everything, for half the entire crop. Farm lands are paid from $12 to $15 per month. Lumber sells at $20 per thousand feet rough. The present crop is large, and immigrants will find provisions low. Five hundred immigrants can be supplied with homes and lands to cultivate upon the terms herein stated. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Lynna Kay Shuffield P. O. Box 16604 Houston, Texas 77222 telephone: 713/692-4511 e-mail: friday@argohouston.com ---My webpages--- 'Our Loose Ends' Genealogy Column by Lynna Kay Shuffield http://www.geocities.com/lks_friday/COLUMN-001.htm 'My Loose Ends' Family Tree Database by Lynna Kay Shuffield http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi- bin/igm.cgi?db=friday Note above URL wraps around onto the next line, cut & paste it onto the end of the first line in the 'location box' on your browser. 'Milam County War Dead Project' http://www.geocities.com/lks_friday/ County Coordinator for the Milam County TXGenWeb http://www.geocities.com/milamco/ County Coordinator for the San Jacinto County TXGenWeb http://www.geocities.com/lks_friday/SANJAC-01.htm TX-CEMETERY-PRESERVATION http://www.geocities.com/lks_friday/CEMETERY-001.htm