Rock Walls of Texas

 

The Rock Walls of Texas

 

20140127 The mystery of the ancient rock wall fortress in Rockwall, Texas was brought to my attention by the show America Unearthed. It concluded that the rock wall that several geologists had seen were natural formations. Other people from long ago said they had seen and photographed parts that convince them that the structure is man made.
 

I'd like to go to the Rockwall Public Library to see the photographs in the book A Photographic Essay on the System of Rock Walls in Rockwall, Texas. It's in the genealogy section, Monday and Wednesday until 6 pm, and Tuesday, Thursday until 8 pm, and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm.
 

Also, there's an article from the LA Times that mentions another wall 20 miles long in Milano, Texas. The article is from 1893 and is very vague about resources. I've been corresponding with a Milano city employee. I'll see if there was a newspaper there at that time.
 

20140224 We went to Rockwall. At the library I copied the following book:

Old Courthouse in Rockwall, Texas

Was that the original mortar or was it added in 1976?

Is this a crude style of wall construction?

What's the probability of that many 90 degree angles in nature?

1776-1976 American Revolution Bicentennial

Stones from the wall which was excavated by Rockwall County for public view in 1976 as part of our country's bicentennial celebration--Rockwall Chamber of Commerce

Most of the citizens of Rockwall that we speak with don't know the history of the rock walls. This section at the old courthouse goes unnoticed.

At the Rockwall Public Library in front of the genealogy section

20140307 As to the wall in Milano, Texas: I found a article in the LA Times from April 23, 1893 :

 

 It said it was from the St. Louis Republic. From that I found the Alexandria Gazette from April 1, 1893 (April fool?):

  I tried to see a similar article from the Bryan Daily Eagle which served the Milano, Texas area in 1893, but curiously, I can't find copies of that year. Before it and after it are mostly available. When I looked for the Dallas Morning News for a similar article I found from May 22, 1893:

 

To get this article, I'd have to pay about $10. I'll see if I can get it through the library system. I'll have to find a time to go to a Dallas Public Library.

 

It seems odd to me that the story should have originated in the Milano Gazette, then it would have been picked up by the Bryan Weekly Eagle (Bryan, Texas), then the Dallas Morning News, Then outward. However, the articles above start with Alexandria Gazette on April 1,  LA Times on April 23, then Dallas Morning News on May22.

 

Well, here it is.

 

 

 

20140328 I've requested the following books through Interlibrary Loan;

Walker thesis:  OCLC 27377092

Walker, K.F., "The Geology of the Northern Half of the Rockwall Quadrangle, Texas" (unpublished master's thesis) Dept. of Geol., University of Oklahoma, 1948.

Wilson thesis:  OCLC 26945289

Wilson, G.W., "The Geology of the Southern Half of the Rockwall Quadrangle, Texas," (unpublished master's thesis) Dept. of Geol., University of Oklahoma, 1949.

I'll see if I can publish these here.

 

20140422 I finally got the Dallas Morning news article above. Once again, it reads identically to the other articles from the other newspapers. Also, all of them are vague, that is, without specific references. Also, the mystery of how the story traveled about the US grows. This article is referenced from Baltimore, whereas the story should have begun in Milano, then would have been discovered by Bryan, then Dallas, then outward.