Red Rock is a census-designated place in Bastrop County, in central Texas. It lies about twelve miles southwest of the county seat of Bastrop, in the region known as the Lost Pines, an isolated stand of loblolly pines that gives this part of central Texas a distinctive landscape. The community's name is said to derive from the red sandstone used to build the chimney of the first settler's house in the early 1850s. In its earliest days the settlement was also known as Hannah Land. Red Rock grew at the crossing of the Austin-to-Port Lavaca stagecoach road and the Bastrop-to-Gonzales trail, and in 1892 the town moved a mile east to the newly laid railroad, a relocation that shaped its later development. For more than a century Red Rock has remained primarily an agricultural and cattle-raising community. Today Red Rock is a small, quiet place with a population of about 410. Its residents are served by the Bastrop-area school districts, and daily services are found in nearby Bastrop and Lockhart. The surrounding countryside is devoted to farming and ranching, and the community's rural character has held steady even as growth has spread through the region between Austin and San Antonio. Red Rock's setting in the Lost Pines places it within reach of several of central Texas's notable destinations. Bastrop State Park, with its pine forests and trails, lies to the northeast, while Lockhart, a short drive to the south, is known for its barbecue. The Colorado River valley and the city of Bastrop offer additional recreation and amenities, and Austin lies roughly thirty-five miles to the northwest. The community's red sandstone name, its railroad-era roots, and its position in the pine woods of Bastrop County give it a distinct identity among the small settlements of the region.