In the first half of the 20th century, the county's wealth came from the cotton fields. Cotton, row crops, grapes, and truck farming were the predominant subsistence east of Interstate 35. West of the Balcones divide, ranchers raised cattle, sheep, and to a lesser extent, goats. Due to Round Rock's favorable geographic location over the rich, fertile "blackland prairie" soils also known locally as the "black waxy" (due to the soil's high clay content), cotton was the largest economic driver at that time. Because of the soil and climate, this ecoregion is ideally suited to crop agriculture. Nearby Taylor, Texas, east of Round Rock, was the primary cotton center where the crop was hauled for ginning (its seeds mechanically removed) at the cotton gin, compressed into bales, and shipped by train. Austin was also a cotton center for a time once the railroad arrived there in the 1870s. Cotton production and cattle raising, on a much smaller scale, continues today, although primarily east of Round Rock.
In the first half of the 20th century, the county's wealth came from the cotton fields. Cotton, row crops grapes, and truck farming were the predominant subsistence east of Interstate 35. West of the Balcones divide, ranchers raised cattle, sheep, and to a lesser extent, goats. Due to Round Rock's favorable geographic location over the rich, fertile "blackland prairie" soils also known locally as the "black waxy" (due to the soil's high clay content), cotton was the largest economic driver at that time. Because of the soil and climate, this ecoregion is ideally suited to crop agriculture. Nearby Taylor, Texas, east of Round Rock, was the primary cotton center where the crop was hauled for ginning (its seeds mechanically removed) at the cotton gin, compressed into bales, and shipped by train. Austin was also a cotton center for a time once the railroad arrived there in the 1870s. Cotton production and cattle raising, on a much smaller scale, continues today, although primarily east of Round Rock.