Gregorytown was established. Once Austin’s most densely populated Black community, with a population of 1,200, it ran from the Texas State Cemetery to the Tillotson Institute, now known as Huston-Tillotson University. It was served by the Gregorytown School established in the 1890s.
Red River Street community was established. Many ethnic groups got their residential and retail starts in Austin on Red River. For African Americans, the story began in 1876 and included at least three schools and two churches.
Red River Street community was established. Many ethnic groups got their residential and retail starts in Austin on Red River. For African Americans, the story began in 1876 and included at least three schools and two churches.
Clarksville was established. Governor E.M. Pease granted lots from his plantation to former enslaved Africans. Charles Griffin Clark was an outsider who bought up land. Sweet Home Baptist Church (1896) remains the cultural center of this protected neighborhood, bounded by West Lynn Street, Waterston Avenue, West 10th Street and MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1).
Belle Hill was established in 1870, a few Black families lived in Austin off Bee Cave Road. The only known reminder is Jackson Cemetery at 700 Las Lomas Drive.
Robertson Hill was established. Arguably the center of Black culture at one time, these uplands rise north of Pleasant Hill, between 11th and 14th streets. It has been home to Ebenezer Third Baptist Church (1875) and Robertson Hill School (1897), among other institutions.
Wheatville was establish in a. Located in 1869 above Shoal Creek between 24th, 26th streets and Rio Grande streets, this community of 250 worshipped at New Hope Baptist Church (1887) and studied at Wheatville School (1881). Its newspaper offices now house Freedmen’s Bar.
Masontown was established in 1867, the flats beyond East Avenue from Third to Sixth streets were settled around what would become the Mason Town School. Eventually, it was split by massive railyards, now slated for redevelopment.
Reyna Branch was established in 1866, this town, probably near Bluff Springs on Onion Creek, developed around the Reyna Branch School.
Archivist Michelle Mears’ 2009 book, “And Grace Will Lead Me Home: African American Freedmen Communities of Austin, Texas, 1865-1928″ describes African American settlements in Austin: In general, she writes, these communities consisted of small, substandard houses on unpaved streets that lacked transportation, streetlights, electricity, indoor plumbing and garbage pickup. Often situated along creeks, they were … Continued