Round Rock Public Library (RRPL) is a public library located in Round Rock, Texas
57-610: The original library building stands on a corner lot on the Main Street in downtown Round Rock, the site of the Sam Bass shootout of 1878. The library's plot of land has been used by a variety of business and by the City of Round Rock. The library's land has had various uses. In 1885, a sash, door, and blind warehouse occupied the east half of the corner lot, but by 1902 the lot was empty. By 1925, when automobile use became widespread,
114-555: A blog , and a book club . The library also offers services for children in the downstairs area of the library, including story time, toddler time, and summer reading programs . RRPL also offers an online reference service, "Ask a Librarian", which allows patrons to submit questions to reference librarians online and have answers emailed to them within 48 hours. 30°30′37″N 97°40′40″W / 30.5102°N 97.6779°W / 30.5102; -97.6779 Sam Bass (outlaw) Samuel Bass (July 21, 1851 – July 21, 1878)
171-521: A $ 0.5 million two story structure was dedicated on the original site. The library used the first floor and the city council chamber took up the second floor. Ray Gill designed the building to retain the historical Texas flavor evident in other buildings on Main Street and to blend in with the existing city hall building. Need for more space mandated that the entire building be renovated in May 1988. At that time,
228-506: A 30-car garage took over the corner. By 1937, the garage became a Ford sales and service dealership, and a combination City Hall and volunteer Fire Department was built on the western half of the lot. The library appeared on the corner lot in the early 1960s. In 1962 the Round Rock Ladies Home Demonstration Club decided that the city needed a library. They organized a group of private citizens into
285-474: A car has been breached, and packages may continue to fall from the train, causing more loss as cargo is damaged by the fall or the train's wheels. Train derailment, caused either directly or indirectly, is also frequent. One such derailment in China caused a pileup in a railway tunnel that cost ¥3 million to clear, and millions more in indirect costs and loss of income. Additionally, packages or debris falling from
342-544: A cattle drive for several ranchers in the San Antonio, Texas area, including Luther Bounds , who later financed operations for the infamous Fannie Porter . In 1876, they drove the cattle to Nebraska, but squandered their (and the ranchers') proceeds by gambling it away in the gold rush town of Deadwood in the Black Hills area. Now broke, Bass and Collins attempted to work as freighters, but were unable to make
399-568: A doctor's care or after he died, even though the Texas Rangers were under tremendous pressure from Austin politicians to capture or kill him. To this day no known photo has ever been confirmed to be of Bass, and when his sister visited Round Rock a year after his death to place a better headstone, she indicated that the photo on the wanted poster shown to her by the Williamson County Sheriff was not of her brother. Bass
456-529: A large explosion that destroyed the targeted goods; ultimately, four people died in the attack. Southern Pacific and the Pinkertons pursued the gang for years and distributed 3.5 million leaflets worldwide for information, eventually apprehending the members. Train robbery had become obsolete by the 1930s in the United States, and many criminals began instead targeting banks . The outlaw culture in
513-490: A living. The duo then formed an outlaw gang, preying primarily on stage coaches. They notably robbed the Union Pacific Railroad gold train from San Francisco on September 18, 1877, intercepting the train at Big Springs, Nebraska and robbing over $ 60,000 (equivalent to about $ 1.86 million in 2022). The gang split up following this heist. Bass returned to Texas and formed a new gang responsible for
570-488: A member of his gang, Jim Murphy, turned informant. Mr. Murphy's father, who was very ill at the time, had been taken into custody and held for questioning. He was not allowed to be seen by a doctor and was prevented from receiving medical treatment, which caused his condition to rapidly worsen. Lawmen sent a message to Murphy informing him that they had his father in custody, and that if Murphy did not agree to meet with them, they would continue to withhold medical treatment from
627-509: A store, they were noticed by Williamson County Deputy Sheriff A. W. Grimes. When Grimes approached the men to request that they surrender their sidearms, he was shot and killed. A gunfight ensued. As Bass attempted to flee, he was shot by Texas Rangers agents George Herold and Sergeant Richard Ware. Soapy Smith and his cousin, Edwin, witnessed Ware's shot. Soapy exclaimed, "I think you got him!" No one residing in Round Rock, and none of
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#1732779888729684-522: A string of stagecoach robberies. In 1878, the gang held up two stagecoaches and four trains within 25 miles (40 km) of Dallas . Although the robberies netted them little money, they became the object of a manhunt by Pinkerton National Detective Agency agents and a special company of the Texas Rangers headed by Captain Junius Peak . Bass was able to elude the Texas Rangers until
741-587: A train can damage surrounding infrastructure. In one case in China, sheet metal being thrown from a train by robbers damaged nearby power lines, causing a blackout. Especially during the early decades of train robbery, violence against train staff and passengers, both directly and indirectly, was common. A 2017 review of 241 train robberies in the United States between 1866 and 1930 found that 91% were committed at gunpoint, 28% used dynamite, 29% resulted in shootings, 13.5% led to deaths, and 7.5% included derailments. One 1896 train derailment caused by robbers resulted in
798-505: A train. Some will obstruct or sabotage the railroad itself in an attempt to derail a moving train. Some use dynamite to damage the rails or train itself to gain entry. Before the invention of dynamite , it was almost impossible to break into safes. Criminals required the combination lock to open safes and often relied on the courier to provide it. Following its invention and widespread use, it became much easier to break into safes and rob trains. Criminals sometimes robbed passengers of
855-460: A year at a sawmill in Rosedale, Mississippi , but eventually drifted west to north Texas; where he worked for a time for Sheriff Egan of Denton . He tried his hand at wrangling cattle, but was unfulfilled by the hard work and low pay. Bass eventually bought a horse and raced it, living on the proceeds for some years. After the horse became too old to race, Bass and a partner, Joel Collins, formed
912-576: Is rare, and the majority of robberies on freight trains are nonviolent, as robbers prefer to avoid confrontation in most cases. However, passengers aboard carrier trains generally still fear being victimized. A 2024 study on Swedish rail safety reported 19% of surveyed passengers feared robbery while on or waiting for a train. Railroad companies have long hired private security agencies to protect cargo during transport, or even establish their own internal police forces to patrol railroads. They may also hire private detectives to investigate and deter theft. In
969-531: The Bristol and Exeter Railway , two passengers climbed from their carriage to the mail van and back. They were discovered at Bridgwater after the second robbery. One was Henry Poole, a former guard on the Great Western Railway , dismissed for misconduct (possibly on suspicion of another robbery); the other was Edward Nightingale, the son of George Nightingale, accused, but acquitted, of robbing
1026-958: The Canyon Diablo Train Robbery in 1889, the Fairbank Train Robbery in 1900, and the Baxter's Curve Train Robbery in 1912. Several factors contributed to the decline of train robberies around the turn of the 20th century and the decades following, although they did not stop entirely. Ruddell and Decker (2017) write, "train robberies were eliminated, in large part, due to making targets less attractive, increasing guardianship, and reducing offender motivation or in other words taking routine precaution". Law enforcement agencies and railroad companies, which once struggled to investigate crimes and arrest perpetrators, began creating or recruiting specialized task forces, such as
1083-701: The Dover mail coach in 1826, when two thieves had dressed in identical clothes to gain an alibi for the other. They were transported for 15 years. Henry was sent to Bermuda on the Sir Robert Seppings (ship) in December 1850 whilst Edward was transported to Fremantle on the Sea Park in January 1854. On May 15, 1855, a train carrying gold departed London , England, for Boulogne , France, and
1140-569: The Pinkerton National Detective Agency . These bodies relentlessly pursued offenders, often for years, and imposed harsher sentences, which deterred further crime. Railroad companies spent more than they lost from the robberies on investigating and preventing thefts; "that for every dollar that was stolen in a train robbery, five dollars were spent on apprehending offenders". Trains also became faster and thus more difficult to board. Wireless communications spread and
1197-730: The American Old West became romanticized in Hollywood's Western films , such as The Great Train Robbery in 1903. Some serial train robbers, like William L. Carlisle , became folk heroes . Train robbery saw a marked decline as the 20th century progressed, although isolated incidents still occurred. Train robberies outside the United States were not as common before the mid-20th century; additionally, many robberies in Canada and Mexico during that time were perpetrated by American outlaws. Examples of 20th-century robberies outside of
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#17327798887291254-668: The Mexican federal government made train robbery a federal crime. China has its own railway police force, which in 2013 employed approximately 80,000 officers. Chinese cargo trains transporting electronics are usually accompanied by armed guards. Several preventative measures are taken to deter and complicate robberies. These include increased security, target hardening , heavier punishments for convicted criminals, and collaboration with different law enforcement bodies. New technology, such as motion sensors, cameras, anti-theft doors, GPS, and smart seals are all used to deter theft. Some of
1311-807: The Midwest and West. The first post-Civil War robberies occurred in Indiana ; Wells Fargo and American Express Company cars carrying money and other expensive materials were common targets. Initially, trains were perceived to be largely impenetrable—especially when compared with the earlier stagecoach—and were often unguarded or only lightly guarded. Early trains passed through large stretches of rural landscape with little to no communication available, leaving them vulnerable to attack and hindering investigation and response by law enforcement. Early bandits were rarely caught. The sensationalization of these crimes in newspapers, dime novels , and Wild West shows added to
1368-603: The Train Burglary Task Force in response to the robberies. The nature of train robbery varies. Cargo can be stolen from either a moving or stationary train in a variety of ways. Perpetrators of train robberies may work alone or in groups and might be committed by gangs or other organized crime . Sometimes, gangs might recuit local residents to partake in the robbery. Goods are often stolen from unattended train cars and in transitional areas like rail yards, parking lots, and warehouses. Thieves might sabotage
1425-1379: The US include the 1906 Rogów raid in Poland; the 1908 Bezdany raid in Lithuania; the 1923 Lincheng Outrage in China; the 1925 Kakori Train Robbery in India; and the 1976 Sallins Train robbery in Ireland. Some countries were an exception to this rule. Egypt , then a British colony , struggled with an epidemic of train robberies during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, Egypt had high rates of poverty and social inequality, leading some citizens to turn to crime; some of these were train employees who were underpaid. An unorganized and ill-equipped police force hampered efforts to resolve cases; during this time, only about 17% of train robbers were apprehended. Some gangs were sheltered by local residents, and in turn gangs often used their profits to support their communities. Most cases occurred in Gharbia Governorate , Beheira Governorate , and Cairo and Giza . Egypt established its Railway Police force in 1893, and this combined with new advances in security and forensic technology led to
1482-541: The appeal for copycat and repeat crimes. Infamous train robbers from this era include Butch Cassidy , Bill Miner , and Jesse James . Jesse James is mistakenly thought to have completed the first successful train robbery in the American West when on July 21, 1873, the James–Younger Gang took US$ 3,000 from a Rock Island Railroad train after derailing it southwest of the town of Adair, Iowa . However,
1539-459: The city, county, and central Texas more accessible to researchers and genealogists . WCGS owns a collection of local genealogical and historical materials that are housed and cataloged by the Library. Both organizations contribute to the upkeep and expansion of the collection, and both provide educational research seminars at the Library. RRPL has a teen program that features gaming tournaments ,
1596-412: The deaths of about 27 passengers. Such violence only added to the high mortality rate of railroad employees, which during the first decades of operation averaged about 12,000 deaths annually. Additionally, perpetrator death was high; in almost 10% of cases, robbers died at the scene or during apprehension. Others were later executed, lynched , or died by suicide. Today, violence against train employees
1653-582: The development of railroads , stagecoach robbery was common. Especially in Europe and North America, stagecoaches and mail couriers were frequently targeted for their cargo. As coaches and horses were phased out in favor of trains, which could haul far more freight and passengers, so too did robbers adjust their targets. Several major train robberies occurred in England in the mid-19th century. The Great Western Mail Robbery occurred in 1849. In two robberies on
1710-440: The early decades of train robbery, sheriffs would often recruit vigilante posses of citizens to apprehend perpetrators. Of the robberies during 1965–1930 studied by Ruddell and Decker, up to 90% of all train robbers were eventually caught. Those who survived the arrest—30% died during the confrontation—were sentenced to prison and sometimes faced capital punishment or were lynched . In response to increased cargo train traffic,
1767-486: The father. Knowing how sick his father was, Murphy agreed to the meeting. There, he reluctantly agreed to turn informant. John B. Jones was subsequently notified of Bass's movements and set up an ambush at Round Rock, Texas , where Bass and the gang planned to rob the Williamson County Bank. On July 19, 1878, Bass and his gang were scouting the area before the robbery. When they bought some tobacco at
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1824-466: The first Round Rock Public Library Board. Then they bought the old Ford Motor Company building on the corner of East Main Street at Sheppard, where the present library stands. The old showroom provided space but it needed to be remodeled, which took 20 months. The work on the showroom was done by a Round Rock High School building and trade class and by local craftsmen. At first the state-chartered, nonprofit, Round Rock Public Library Association administered
1881-467: The first peacetime train robbery in the United States occurred on October 6, 1866, when robbers boarded an Ohio & Mississippi train shortly after it left Seymour, Indiana . They broke into one safe and tipped the other off the train before jumping off. The Pinkerton National Detective Agency later traced the crime to the Reno Gang . There was one earlier train robbery in May 1865 , but because it
1938-578: The gradual decrease of train robberies after 1904. The Great Train Robbery of 1963, the UK's most infamous occurrence, occurred in Buckinghamshire in 1963. On April 8, a group of robbers targeted a Post Office train enroute from Glasgow to London and stole over £2.3 million in parcels. Apprehended members of the gang were sentenced to a collective total of 307 years imprisonment. Modern train robbery still exists, although it no longer resembles
1995-513: The library retired its card catalog and installed an automated library system. In 1992, a Library Foundation was formed, incorporated, and granted a 501(c)(3) non-profit classification, allowing it to supersede the Library Board. In January, 1996, Round Rock citizens voted for and passed a $ 3.5 million bond issue to expand the library from 11,000 square feet (1,000 m) to approximately 43,000 square feet (4,000 m). Construction on
2052-410: The library. Then the City of Round Rock assumed ownership of the library in 1977. In September, 1978, structural damage forced the library to close. During the spring of 1979, the library relocated to a temporary building on Liberty Street. Volunteers and community members helped move the books and equipment to the temporary facility. The library served the community there until 1980. On July 20, 1980,
2109-453: The most notable train robbers and gangs are: Train robberies are a common depiction in Western films and media. The first movie to depict a train robbery was the 1903 silent film The Great Train Robbery , produced by Edison Studios . This 11-minute film depicts a gang of outlaws who rob a train, only to later be hunted down by vigilantes and killed in a shootout. The Great Train Robbery
2166-590: The mythos set by Hollywood Westerns. Thieves often target train cars carrying cargo for large corporations, such as Walmart and Amazon ; and are most interested in commercial goods, particularly electronics, or raw industrial materials like metals and textiles. In the United States, the Los Angeles Basin is the most common spot for freight to be stolen en route. Other hotspots include areas near large depots, like Detroit , Chicago , and Memphis . In Mexico in 2011, train theft had increased by 120% from
2223-487: The new addition began in March 1998 and was finished July 1999. Remodeling of the old building began right away and was completed December 1999. A grand opening ceremony was held on November 20, 1999, and the library building was named in honor of Robert G. and Helen Griffith, long time library supporters. In May 2013 voters approved a $ 23.2 million bond for the construction of a new three story library building. Ground broke on
2280-560: The new building in June 2021 and the grand opening was held on January 28, 2023. The new building is 66,000 sqft and the final cost came to $ 37.4 million. Prior to the cities $ 4.2 million purchase of the property that the new library would be built on, a bar, Cozy Corner, had operated for several decades. The Library and the Williamson County Genealogical Society (WCGS) work jointly to make the history of
2337-524: The population and law enforcement presence in once-sparse areas grew, making crime reporting and response much faster. The first train robbery to be reported by telephone occurred in 1907. In 1923, what would later be dubbed the "Last Great Train Robbery", the DeAutremont Brothers targeted a Southern Pacific Railroad carrying mail. The would-be robbers attempted to breach the mail car using dynamite but accidentally used too much, causing
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2394-401: The previous year. Railroads in the south-central part of the country, such as Zacatecas , Veracruz , Puebla , and Guanajuato , are at the highest risk. The area around Acultzingo has the highest rate of train robberies, recording 521 in 2017–2018 alone. A string of train robberies in India have targeted both cargo and passengers. On August 9, 2016, a group of robbers drilled a hole into
2451-998: The roof of a secure car aboard the Chennai–Salem Express and stole ₹ 57.8 million ($ 860,000; £570,000). The train had been transporting ₹342 crore from the Indian Overseas Bank to the Reserve Bank of India in Chennai . The Indian media dubbed it "the great train robbery". Eight arrests were made in 2018 in connection with the heist. Since 2023, several instances of armed dacoits boarding trains and robbing money, mobile phones, and valuables from passengers have been reported aboard Indian passenger trains. Multiple people have been injured in these attacks. In 2021, train robberies in Los Angeles resulted in hundreds of discarded packages to be strewn about
2508-553: The shootout in the old downtown. Rosston, Texas celebrates Sam Bass Day annually on the third Saturday in July. There is also the Sam Bass Fire Department of Brushy Creek in Round Rock, TX Williamson County. Bass has since been portrayed in several books, radio programs, television shows, and movies. Train robbery Since the invention of locomotives in the early 19th century, trains have often been
2565-498: The size of trains has also increased. Ferromex , Mexico's largest railroad company, reported that its carload volume had increased by 6.6% in 2011. Financial losses to train robbery are difficult to calculate and vary from one crime to another. Robberies during the American Old West period resulted in an average loss of $ 9,980 per crime. In 2006, 11,711 train robberies in China were reported, with losses totalling ¥41.7 million ($ 6.8 million). Sometimes, train drivers do not realize
2622-484: The target of robbery , in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables. Train robbery was especially common during the 19th century and is commonly associated with gangs of outlaws in the American Old West . It has continued into the 21st century, with criminals usually targeting freight trains carrying commercial cargo, or targeting passengers of public transportation for their valuables. Prior to
2679-494: The tracks. Trains were targeted on a section of tracks that they must slow down on and that are easy to access. Thieves used bolt cutters to cut open the locks on shipping containers and took the packages inside. The dropped packages were then picked over by thieves as well as passerby. Union Pacific estimated that losses were in the millions from all the stolen merchandise. By late 2021, an average of 90 containers were broken into daily. The Los Angeles Police Department assembled
2736-447: The train itself and bypass security measures, either causing it to drop cargo, creating a distraction, or triggering an emergency stop, thereby creating an easier method of boarding the train. Sometimes, thieves will climb onto the train and pass or spill cargo onto the ground below, where packages can be retrieved. However, as was much more common historically but is still done today, robbers sometimes use more violent means of breaching
2793-634: The train's carriages at gunpoint , stealing their jewelry or currency . Contrary to the method romanticized by Hollywood , outlaws in the American Old West were never known to jump from horseback onto a moving train. Usually, they would either board the train normally and wait for a good time to initiate the heist , or they would stop or derail the train and then begin the holdup. Train theft results in significant financial and commercial losses. As e-commerce has increased demand for large quantities of goods to be transported even longer distances, and as trains create fewer emissions than cargo trucks,
2850-470: The visiting Texas Rangers (except Jim Murphy), knew what any of the Bass gang looked like. In fact, after Seaborne Barnes was killed and lay on the street, Ware had to have Murphy identify the body, as no one else knew who the man was. Ware himself stated that he had seen the same three men earlier in town crossing the street to enter the dry goods store, but in fact did not recognize them as the Bass gang. Bass
2907-513: Was a 19th-century American train robber , outlaw , and outlaw gang leader. Notably, he was a member of a gang of six that robbed a Union Pacific train in Nebraska of $ 60,000 in newly minted gold from San Francisco, California. To date, this is the biggest train robbery to have been committed in the USA. He died as a result of wounds sustained in a gun battle with law enforcement officers. Sam Bass
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#17327798887292964-470: Was born in Mitchell, Indiana , on July 21, 1851; the son of Daniel and Elizabeth Jane (Sheeks) Bass. His father was a member of the mixed-race Bass family of North Carolina . His great-grandfather, Edward Bass (b.1696) was an Afro-Nansemond planter from Virginia. He was orphaned before his thirteenth birthday, and afterwards was raised by an uncle. Bass left home at the age of 19. Bass worked for about
3021-604: Was buried in Round Rock in what is now known as Round Rock Cemetery. His grave is now marked with a replacement headstone—as the original suffered at the hands of souvenir collectors over the years. What remains of the original stone is on display at the Round Rock Public Library . There are roads named after Bass in Round Rock, Texas , Denton, Texas and west of Sanger, Texas . During Round Rock's annual Frontier Days celebration, performers re-enact
3078-561: Was committed by armed guerrillas and occurred shortly after the end of the Civil War, it is not considered to be the first train robbery in the United States. Train robberies peaked in the 1890s. Although they occurred in a wide variety of states, California , Missouri , Texas , and Oklahoma recorded the highest numbers. Notable robberies during this period include the Union Pacific Big Springs robbery in 1877,
3135-505: Was found upon arrival to be missing over £12,000 worth of gold and money. The incident became known as the Great Gold Robbery of 1855 . Four men were arrested in 1856 for the crime. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, train robberies were frequent in the American Old West , where trains carrying valuable cargo, like payroll shipments, were a frequent target. These shipments would be guarded by an expressman whose duty
3192-422: Was later found lying in a pasture west of Round Rock by Williamson County Deputy James Milton Tucker. More specifically, Bass had to call out to the posse as they were about to ride by him, shouting, "Hey I'm over here. I'm Sam Bass, the one you are looking for." He was taken into custody and died the next day on July 21, 1878, his 27th birthday. No photograph was taken of Bass either while he was dying in town under
3249-510: Was to protect the cargo of the " express car ". Changing social and economic situations after the American Civil War led to the development of gangs and individuals who took up train robbery as a means of income. After the war, many soldiers were faced with little economic opportunity upon returning home, and train robbing required little specialized skill. Other robbers held the railroad companies in contempt, particularly those from
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