Rockwall Co., TX - News: Underground Wall in Texas ***************************************************** This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb by: Holli Boone Kees USGenWeb Archives. Copyright. All rights reserved http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ***************************************************** Atlanta Constitution Jan. 1, 1905 Underground Wall in Texas Mysterious Structure or Deposit that gives name to country (from the Chicago Chronicle) Near Rockwall is one of the most curious formations in Texas. This town and county were named after, and many contend that in spite of the opinion of scientists to the contrary, the formation is the product of the toll of a prehistoric race. The rock wall, as it is know extends along three sides of the town, but generally though to the south as is to be found within 200 or 300 yards of the corporation line. No one seems to know just how long it is, but traces of it have been discovered across the river in Dallas county. Geologists say that the wall owes its origin to a volcanic upheaval. It is composed of stones which are three inches thick and from six to eighteen inches in length. They are piled on top of one another, just like brick, and with the same regularity. All of it is underground. At some places it comes within ten feet of the surface of the earth. In others one will have to dig down to twice that depth before its top is touched. In the localities where it is nearest the surface plowshares have turned over many of the stones, and some of the fields are plentifully besprinkled with them. Wells have been dug down by the side of the wall for a distance of fully fifty feet, but it extends beyond that depth. The stones are of a light yellow color and evidently have mica in them. There are some streaks, too, which closely resemble white marble. The substance is very hard and which exposed to the elements does not deteriorate. This is attested by pieces which have been left exposed for more than a generation. Another curious thing about it is that there is no other stone in the country which is just like it. Rockwall county has some fine building stone, but it is an entirely different kind. It resembles bricks more nearly than anything else, the bricks which are manufactured from the clay found in this section. Many believe that this wall was built by prehistoric men as a fortification for a settlement which once stood on this very spot. Asked to explain why it is that the wall is now under ground, they call attention to the belief of geologists that once the Red River found its way to the sea down through this valley, and it was miles in width. This black dirt, the theorists contend, is a mixture of alluvial deposits and clay, and these mixtures, they say, covered up the walls. ---