This south Coleman County Community has had three names during its history. The first settlers who came into the area in the late 1870’s and early 1880’s called their new home Camp Creek Colony.  This site was located east of the present town of Rockwood.  This location was at the intersection of the mail route running north from Brady and the military road from Fort McKavett northwest to Camp Colorado and other forts.  A branch of the Chisholm Trail turned northwest at the Colony.  When a post office was established in the home of Mrs. W. L. (Sallie) Faulk in July, 1891, no agreement could be reached on just what to name it.  After much deliberation, Uncle Joe Foreman, a little man with a long white beard, who rode a little mule, suggested the name of Discord.  It remained that for about three years.  In 1894, J. Adolph Wood became postmaster.  Miss Flossie Thompson, a music teacher from Coleman, named the town at a social at the Wood home; seemed the Wood family were moving on and he wanted his name in it and Miss Flossie said he lived on a rocky hill and just add Wood, thus Rockwood.  The name stuck all these years.

One of the first stores in the Camp Creek Community was put in by W. L. Wainright in 1888.  L. L. Shield of Trickham also had a store here.  W. L. Wainright put up a one-stand gin about 1888 in the Camp Creek Community, or Discord.  His mother, Mrs. Mary Wainright, was named the first postmaster of Rockwood, was a widow and later married Mose Mcllvain (she was the first person to die in Rockwood and was buried in Santa Anna.)  The gin was moved to Waldrip about 1892 and Shield and Byrd put up a two-stand gin, then sold it to the Bairs Brothers of Coleman, who operated it until 1903.  At that time, “Mr. Bob” Steward, Dr. Newsom, J. B. Harrison and M. R. Cheatham bought the gin and operated it for about three years.  Then “Mr. Bob” became the sole owner and was a ginner for some 31 years before selling to the Co-operative.  At one time, about 1931 or 1932, two gins were in operation in Rockwood.  Four gins burned during the gin history of 67 years, which goes from a one-stand to a six-stand.  Shields sold the store to the A. F. Vise family and it was moved to the new site of Rockwood in 1892.

In the late 1890’s the discovery of coal near the Colorado River caused a boom at Rockwood. The coal interest died until the late 1970’s when strip mining operations were begun at the Little Bull Creek Mine.

The Tom Johnson family moved into the area about 1879 and bought the Home Creek Ranch.  At that time there were about 10 families from Home Creek to the Brannon Ranch on the Colorado River.  The John X. Steward family came to the Camp Creek Community in 1888.  He opened a sub-division to Rockwood in 1897.  Dr. F. M. Lankford brought his family in 1905, in search of health.  He bought land from the Brannon Ranch and opened the Lankford Addition in May, 1906, with a big picnic.  The W. M. Moore family came in 1886.  Mr. Moore was the first person buried in the Rockwood Cemetery.  Other early settlers were the L. Brusenhan Sr. family, the B. B. Fowlers family, Joseph L. Caldwell family, N. J. Buttry family, L. A. McCreary and their nine children, the Richardsons, Jim King family, L. J. Livingston family, the Joe Box family, A. N. McSwanes and the McCarrells. Also the Hyatt Moores, Stephen Brannons Uim, son of the Stephen Brannons was the first white male child born in the Rockwood area),Thompsons, and the Ben Pittmans. It is believed that the Faulk home was the first in the settlement.

A. S. Hart owned a drug store in Rockwood; Paul Riddle, Andy Snider and Jess Ashmore were early day barbers; one of the blacksmiths was Emmett Woods; Nelson and Jim Ryan had a combination garage and gas station; I. A. Hadley had a garage; Luther Abernathy had a gas station; Boss and Sam Estes operated a general store; Artie Mae Stewardson had a millinery shop.  The Hall Telephone Exchange was owned by the A. S. Halls.  Linnie Box opened a cafe in 1932.  Her shop is a regular museum, with one wall covered with pictures.  It all began during WWII when the Rockwood area had 101 boys in the service and she wrote to them all; and now has pictures of their children and grandchildren.

Now Rockwood only has her store, no longer a cafe, which will sell you a bill of groceries or a cup of coffee; one gas station owned by Mr. and Mrs. Tony Davis; two churches, Baptist and Methodist; and Mrs. Curtis Bryan has a thriving custom interiors business at her home, working for a Dallas firm.

Early doctors in Rockwood were Brown, Pope, E. B. Newsom, F. M. Lankford and Thomas Atchison who had a drug store and was also a Baptist preacher.

When the Rockwood Elementary School was closed in May, 1955, the question of relocation of the lunch room came up.  It had been used for community social affairs.  The local HD Club was the only organized group and took the lead; Mrs. R. L. Steward and the late Mr. Steward gave the lot on Dallas Street, and the lunch room, now known as the Rockwood Community Center, was moved January 14, 1957.  In October, 1958, the Santa Anna School Board gave the Rockwood Community the old school building, which was sold to the highest bidder, and another room was added to the Center.  The Stewards again gave a lot for the extra needed room.  Later, two lots in front of the building were bought.  The Center is really the Center of Rockwood, it is used almost every day; some days there are two meetings.  The churches have socials, Sunday School parties, teenage parties, family dinners, HD Club, Lullaby showers, wedding showers, receptions.  It is also used for a voting place.