The original round rock in Brushy Creek and the area around it is having its historic significance restored and remembered by the City of Round Rock.

According to the book "Images of America: Round Rock" by Bob Brinkman, settlement of the Round Rock area dates to the late 1830s, when the city was called Brushy Creek. Since its beginning, Round Rock relied on the creek for its livelihood and recreation. Evidence suggests that from the late 1800s, Brushy Creek was used as a community bathing beach and swimming hole, said David Buzzell, Round Rock parks development manager.

"It was the first community space in Round Rock," Buzzell said. "The community came out, they played in the water [and] they would have events."

Resident descriptions of the bathing beach suggest an 8- to 9-foot-deep pool behind the creek's dam structure was used as the town swimming hole. In the early 1900s, a bathhouse, diving board and rock slide were built. While the foundations remain, the slide and bathhouse no longer exist, and the diving board was taken down because its wooden board was rotting.

"The stories we've heard is that they actually carved out the rock to make steps to get out of the water next to the diving board or the slide," Buzzell said.

Hutto resident Pete Correa grew up in Round Rock and lived in the area for more than 66 years. In an interview with the City of Round Rock, Correa remembered playing in Brushy Creek and at the round rock as a child.

"I remember growing up, and I remember the round rock was a special deal for us," Correa said. "We used to go down there and swim as kids, a bunch of us, and dive off that diving board."

From jumping across rocks to fishing for catfish, the creek and bathing beach was the primary spot for Correa and local children to spend their days.

"We'd spend every day in the summertime swimming," Correa said. "We'd get up in the morning, swim all day, get hungry, sometimes we'd catch fish and cook and eat them."

Preserving the memories and history cultivated by Correa and others is the primary goal in Round Rock's plan to revitalize the bathing beach area. Although the city does not plan to reopen the area as a swimming space, Buzzell said the aim is to capture the creek's historical significance through improved trails, signage and art pieces in the area.

The Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department is early in the design process for the project, Buzzell said. He said he has received positive feedback on the preservation and ideas such as building a pavilion on the site of the former bathhouse.

"We got a lot of great stories about the history of it," he said. "Some of the people actually lived it and told the stories about it. We also had our design team there actually doing sketches of different concepts that people were telling us about."

The revitalized area is expected to include additional park space, an area to view and take pictures of the round rock, and trails that will eventually run from Hutto to the Cedar Park area.

"It creates a new, open park space, which our residents ... identify as one of the top three things they want in our community," said Roger Heaney, director of communications for the Round Rock Parks and Recreation Department.

While Round Rock is famous for events such as the Sam Bass shootout and the Chisholm Trail crossing, Buzzell said other important parts of the city's history, such as the bathing beach, are not receiving the recognition they deserve. The bathing beach project aims to tell a fuller story of the city's history.

"A lot of our residents have been here 10 years or less, so [they] don't truly understand the history of it unless you really dig into it," Buzzell said. "I don't think we've done a really good job of telling our story."

Correa also said he hopes the bathing beach will show residents the city's heritage.

"That's history, right there. It's been there forever and ever," Correa said. "So many kids need to see and appreciate that dam the way I did. I have so many good memories."

The bathing beach is part of Round Rock's Heritage Trail project, which aims to bring attention to Round Rock's past throughout the city. Round Rock City Council allocated $1 million for the bathing beach project, which may not break ground for several months, depending on permitting and regulatory processes.