How an 1800s Heist Helped Put Round Rock’s History on Hollywood’s Radar

While Round Rock, Texas is now celebrated for its family-friendly charm and booming tech scene, it’s also a town steeped in good old-fashioned Western frontier drama. Let’s step back in time to the summer of 1878, and this Williamson County locale becomes the backdrop for one of the most legendary shootouts in Wild West history.

At the center of it all: a reckless gunslinger, a lawman hot on his trail, and a fortune waiting to be claimed, in none other than Round Rock, Texas. The outlaw? Sam Bass, a gambler-turned-train-robber whose final heist would seal his fate and immortalize his name. His dramatic end came during the blistering grip of a scorching hot July in 1878.

Sam Bass and his gang set their sights on the Williamson County Bank in Round Rock, Texas. Already infamous for orchestrating one of the largest train robbery in U.S. history, netting $60,000 (about $1.9 million today) in gold from a Union Pacific train in Nebraska, Bass was no stranger to high-stakes crime. But this time, the law was waiting, thanks to the betrayal of Jim Murphy, Sam’s gang member. As they moved in, Williamson County Deputy Sheriff A.W. Grimes confronted the outlaws and was gunned down before he could draw his weapon. Chaos erupted. Sam Bass was shot during the skirmish and died two days later on his 27th birthday.

20th-century filmmakers, who romanticized figures like Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy, and Sam Bass into enduring icons casting them in films that celebrate the dusty edges of justice and rebellion.

Though Sam Bass’ criminal career ended in bloodshed, his notoriety was just beginning. Newspapers, ballads, and later, Hollywood transformed Bass into a symbol of daring rebellion. Dubbed “Texas’ Beloved Bandit” and “Robin Hood on a Fast Horse,” his legend goes far beyond Round Rock, etched into Western myth where lawmen and outlaws still ride side by side.

The Poster That Piqued Curiosity

In a twist worthy of a Western, Tony Palmeri, a Central Texas computer programmer, recently discovered he’s related to Sam Bass, his second cousin, four times removed. The revelation began not with DNA, but with a vintage “Wanted” poster purchased by his mother, one that bore an eerie resemblance to her brother Ronnie. The man on that poster sparked a curiosity that he couldn’t ignore.

Fueled by family lore and a hunch that refused to fade, Palmeri turned to MyHeritage to trace his bloodline. What he uncovered confirmed more than coincidence: the iconic outlaw celebrated in song and story was, indeed, a relative. Today, Palmeri steps into that heritage, hat tilted, portraying “Rambler” in Wild West reenactments that honor not just history, but heritage, and the intriguing way faces and stories find their way home to Round Rock, Texas.