Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
Rainbow Courts
915 E. Cameron - US 79 East
Rockdale, TX
915 E. Cameron - US 79 East
Rockdale, TX
THC Historical Marker Dedication September 24, 2016 - 1:00 PM
Rainbow Tourist Camp and Courts
In the first decades of the twentieth century,
affordable roadside accomodations began with campsites
equipped with amenities. These eventually developed
into cottage style courts in the 1920s. Nathan Monroe
(N.M.) Bullock, a member of the State Mining Board,
opened Rainbow Tourist Camp near his Rockdale home in
1918. By the 1920s, Bullock and his wife, Lenora,
added cottages to the camp. A fire destroyed
BUllock's house in 1930, but he rebuilt it with an
attached motel office and constructed additional
cottages.
In 1936, when U.S. Highway 79 was built through town,
business boomed and Bullock called in his brother, Ira
Benjamin (I.B.) to assist in running the courts.
After N. M. Bullock died in 1945, his brother
purchased the tourist courts. He purchased additional
space, added more rooms, and renovated much of the
facilities. I. B. Bullock died in 1970 and in 1975 his
wife, Algia Mae Bullock, sold Rainbow Courts Motel to
their daughter and her husband.
Many of the cottages present are the original
structures from the 1920s, although renovated. The
cottages were originally constructed as wood frame
with piers and beam foundations. The cottages were
built to include carports within an inline power-
sharing design. The mission revival style cottages'
parapets and flat roofs have been covered with gabled
metal roofs.
The motel office was remodeled with an Austin Stone
veneer in the 1950s. The layout of the motel cottages
is still a classic "U" shape. Iris plants, first
planted by Lenora Bullock, still bloom on the
property. Rainbow Courts had a significant impact on
the evolution of Travel and Tourism in Rockdale and
the State of Texas.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2016
Marker is property of the State of Texas
Geri Burnett - President -
M.C. Historical Commission
M.C. Historical Commission
Rainbow Courts Historical Marker crowd
Photos courtesy of Jack Brooks