5 /5 Ann Boehm: What a beautiful church! So glad we stopped and took a brief walking tour. The campus is beautiful and this church has been built by love and the Spirit of Christ. All you holy men and women pray for us. No surprise they have Perpetual Adoration- Dr William is a testimony to trust, faith, hope and charity.
Saint William Catholic Church is located in Round Rock, Texas, near the Brushy Creek that was part of the Chisholm Trail. To protect pioneers from Indian raids, some forts were established along Brushy Creek as early as 1635. The first community to be established in the area soon became known as Brushy. When the area requested a post office, the US Postmaster General did not approve the name because it had already been assigned to another village in East Texas. In 1854, the local postmaster selected the name of Round Rock because of the well-known stone which marked a safe crossing over Brushy Creek.
The true beginning of Catholic life in Round Rock has its roots in the Hispanic emigration. Hispanics came to Round Rock and McNeil in the beginning of the 20th century to work principally in the limestone quarries. David L. Carlin, who researched the early community, wrote, "The lime plant in Round Rock has aided the settlement of the Mexican-Americans in Round Rock, more than any other factor."
Francisco Carlin came to Round Rock in 1900 from San Diego de Alejandria in the State of Jalisco. To protect the Faith against religious sects who conducted their services under the trees of the limestone kiln, Mr. Carlin went to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Austin and requested that a priest be sent to Round Rock once a month to say Mass. He promised protection and his home as a meeting place, where the priest could spend the night and celebrate Mass. The first Mass there was celebrated in 1916 by Father Walter ODonnell, a Holy Cross priest. The liturgy was celebrated at the Carlin home until 1939.
In that year, the purchase of 18 acres of land was approved by Bishop C.E. Byrne, Bishop of Galveston. Five acres were kept for a church site and 13 acres were sold and divided into lots. The Catholic Church Extension Society offered $1,500 to help build a church if it were agreed to name it Saint William Catholic Church, in honor of Archbishop William OBrien, head of the Society. The Hispanic community did not particularly like the name, since they had promised years ago that if a church were ever built, it would be named Sacred Heart. They agreed to the Saint William naming, however, when they learned that their church would actually be built. The church was dedicated in November of 1940.
