BlockRockdale, Texas
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1985. It stands in the Rockdale census division. It lies in ZIP code area 76567. It stands on West Ham Branch. The Survey maps it on the Rockdale West quadrangle. 5,323 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 466 feet above sea level.
Research this city
On record in Rockdale
Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.
On the National Register 1 record
Population over time
3 figuresRockdale fell from 5,439 to 5,323 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5,439 | |
| 2010 | 5,595 | +156 (+3%) |
| 2020 | 5,323 | -272 (-5%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 15 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1885 USGS Taylor quadrangle1:125000
- 1887 USGS Taylor quadrangle1:125000
- 1894 USGS Taylor quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1954 USGS Austin quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1962 USGS Rockdale West quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Taylor quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
47 since 2005Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of Rockdale between 2005 and 2020, burning about 843 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 24 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 13 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 7 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 1 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | 3.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | 908 & PR 1011 -KEY |
| 12 August 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 65 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | BRUSHY CREEK |
| 4 July 2016 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | OUT OF CONTROL BURN FIRE |
| 2 July 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | MUTUAL AID ROCKDALE VFD |
| 30 June 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | CR 316 & FM 908 063018 |
| 22 May 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 4 April 2006 | Smoking | 1.0 acres | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
| 2 April 2008 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Texas A & M Forest Service | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Storms near this place
48 since 1995Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Rockdale in 48 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 19 thunderstorm wind, 15 hail, 9 flash flood, 3 flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | 1 hurt, $50,000 | The Milam County emergency manager reported a mobile home was moved off the foundation piers on Green Street in Rockdale. Several trees were blown down, as were power lines. One Rockdale resident had a large tree fall through her home and she received minor head wounds. |
| September 2013 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | $100,000 | Water was reported up to the hood of cars approximately 2 miles west of Rockdale on US 79. Multiple streets in Rockdale were flooded, and the local newspaper reported extensive flooding at the intersections of US 79 and Childress, Meadow, and Calhoun streets. The worst flooding was at US 79 and Meadow Rd where four inches of water entered a restaurant and moved a large outside cooler about 40 yards. A trash dumpster near the restaurant was also moved. FM 908 & 487 were briefly closed during the event. In addition, a portion of Cypress Trail Loop on the western side of Rockdale was washed out. |
| July 2007 | Flood | Rockdale | $100,000 | Ham Branch breached its banks in central Rockdale, neccesitating water rescues and evacuations. A few houses were threatened by flood waters. |
| April 2010 | Heavy Rain | Rockdale | $50,000 | A vehicle accident at East Belton and CR 333 during a thunderstorm resulted in two injuries and extensive damage to the vehicles. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Rockdale | $50,000 | Baseball-size hail fell in Rockdale breaking windows and damaging cars. |
| May 1995 | Hail | Rockdale | $40,000 | Golf ball to baseball-size hail broke windows and damaged automobiles and roofs. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Rockdale | $10,000 | A trained spotter reported golf ball size hail in the city of Rockdale, TX. |
| October 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $10,000 | Trees and power lines were blown down all over town. There was secondary damage from trees falling on houses and cars. |
| December 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $10,000 | Strong winds damaged a home. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Rockdale | $5,000 | A storm chaser reported two-inch diameter hail approximately 1.3 miles southeast of the city of Rockdale, TX. |
| April 2019 | Hail | Rockdale | $5,000 | A trained spotter reported two-inch diameter hail approximately 2 miles southeast of the city of Rockdale, TX. |
| February 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $5,000 | Emergency management reported roof damage to a few structures in Rockdale, TX. |
| February 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $5,000 | A social media report indicated awnings over the gas pumps at the CEFCO convenience store were damaged. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $5,000 | Numerous large trees down across county roads. |
| April 2008 | Hail | Rockdale | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2007 | Hail | Rockdale | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $3,000 | Law enforcement reported a 60 MPH wind gust in the city of Rockdale, TX. |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $3,000 | Power lines knocked down. |
| April 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $2,000 | There was a 61 MPH measured wind gust at Rockdale. The local newspaper reported downed trees and power lines in and around Rockdale. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $2,000 | Trees were blown down by high winds. |
| March 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $2,000 | Power lines and large cedar trees were blown down between Rockdale and Milano. |
| November 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $2,000 | no account filed |
| May 2009 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | $1,000 | The Rockdale PD reported that several streets in the city had to be closed due to water covering the streets. |
| March 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $1,000 | Tree reported down on power lines in Rockdale. |
| May 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | $200 | Trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds. |
| March 2021 | Hail | Rockdale | - | Dime to nickel size hail was reported in Rockdale and fell for approximately ten minutes. |
| April 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | - | Emergency management reported trees down across the road on FM 487 north of the city of Rockdale, TX. |
| March 2015 | Flood | Rockdale | - | A social media report stated that FM 908 south of U.S. 77 was closed due to flooding. |
| September 2013 | Flood | Rockdale | - | Several creeks remained swollen out of their banks and several roads remained impassable in and around Rockdale after nearly 8 inches of rain fell over the town in a few short hours. |
| March 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | - | A large tree was blocking Farm-to-Market Road 908 south of Rockdale. |
| April 2012 | Hail | Rockdale | - | A trained storm spotter reported hail fell 3 miles southwest of Rockdale from 7:15 pm until 7:41 pm. The hail started out pea-sized, but increased to the size of pennies before ending. |
| April 2010 | Hail | Rockdale | - | Penny size hail was reported 3 miles west of Rockdale. |
| June 2007 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | FM 486 and FM 1600 were closed at Little River, and FM 1915 and FM 2269 were closed at Big Elm Creek. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | Major flooding was reported in Rockdale with several stranded motorists. FM 1600 near Cameron was also closed due to high water. |
| July 2007 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | About two feet of water covered the Cameron Avenue/Meadow Street intersection after four inches of rain fell in about three hours. |
| May 2006 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | Street flooding was reported at U.S. 79 at Meadow and Childress, on Belton Avenue, and at the intersections of Bowser and Cedar and Murray and Jackson. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Rockdale | - | Reported by Rockdale Police Department. |
| June 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | - | Large tree limbs were blown down by high winds. |
| December 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | - | A large tree was blown down onto a road. |
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Rockdale | - | Non-specific wind damage was reported by the fire chief. |
| September 2001 | Heavy Rain | Rockdale | - | Streets in town were closed due to high water. |
| October 1998 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | Three persons were rescued from their home that was cut off by high water. Numerous county roads and farmlands were flooded through the morning of the 20th due to over 6 inches of rain that fell on the 17th and 18th.. |
| November 1998 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | County Road 908 south of Rockdale was closed due to high water from thunderstorms. |
| July 1997 | Flash Flood | Rockdale | - | Locally heavy rain that fell in the area resulted in a bridge being flooded. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Rockdale | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Rockdale | - | no account filed |
| May 2008 | Hail | Rockdale | - | no account filed |
| March 2000 | Hail | Rockdale | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Praesel | 1.7 miles | 15 | |
| Marjorie | 4.7 miles | 15 | |
| Handy | 4.9 miles | 15 | |
| Minerva | 7.1 miles | 8 | |
| Alcoa | 7.2 miles | 14 | |
| Sandow | 7.3 miles | 14 | |
| Forest Grove | 7.5 miles | 8 | |
| Liberty Hill | 7.6 miles | 14 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Rockdale | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q981773 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1366723. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.