Clarksville
Clarksville is the most well-known freedom community as it still persists as a neighborhood in modern central Austin. The community was founded in 1871 by Charles Clark who changed his name from Charles Griffin after emancipation. He bought two acres of land from Confederate general Nathan G. Shelley and built a house on what is now West 10th Street. The land had previously been owned by Governor Elisha M. Pease, who is said to have given the land to his emancipated slaves so that they would remain near his mansion to be available for service. Clark sold sections of the land to other freedmen and women to start a community just outside Austin.
Portrait of Mrs. Washington (mother of Seymore Washington) seated in a small yard in the Clarksville neighborhood. Two cows and a small dog are also in the yard with her. Small wooden houses are visible in the background. Citation: [PICA-35857], Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Despite its isolated location Clarksville was within the jurisdiction of the city of Austin early on in its history. Early Clarksville residents described it as a wildland broken up by occasional dirt roads and train tracks laid by the International-Great Northern Railroad in the 1870s. Some of these tracks were extended by the Missouri Pacific Railroad (now Loop 1/MoPac) during this time and cut off the western parts of Clarksville.
An important part of the community was the Sweet Home Baptist Church, which served as the meeting center, established in 1871. The church was organized in the home of Mary Smith until the congregation was able to purchase the property in 1882. Reverend Jacob Fontaine served as the first minister. Today, the fourth church building, constructed in 1935, remains on site at 1725 W 11th Street and Sweet Home Baptist church continues to be an active congregation. The site is commemorated by an Official Texas Historical Marker to celebrate the history of Clarksville and the church is designated as a City of Austin Local Historic Landmark.
A large group of people are sitting and standing at the entrance to the Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church. Established soon after Clarksville was founded, Sweet Home was the cornerstone of life in the early freedman's community for its residents. Citation: [PICA-36042], Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Black state legislator from Grimes and Brazos counties, Elias Mayes, lived in Clarksville as early as 1875. He bought land from Charles Clark in 1884. Clarksville residents mainly worked in the cotton industry or farmed while others worked in the surrounding communities. By 1896 Clarksville had established a school which enrolled 47 students and by 1917 the new one-room schoolhouse was built and named the Clarksville “Colored” School and offered six grades.
Portrait of Elias Mays (Mayes), an original resident of Clarksville. Elias Mayes (other surname May and Mays), a Black state legislator, was one of the community’s most prominent early residents. He purchased two lots from Clark in 1884. His son Ben May (the last two letters in the name were dropped at some point), later lived at 1624 West 10th. Citation: [PICA-36019], Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
In the early 20th century developers realized the land value of Clarksville which was near to the growing downtown Austin. City policy via the 1928 master plan wanted to pressure the Black population into moving east and so, in 1918 the Austin school board closed the Clarksville school. Residents of the community were either forced to use city services in East Austin or none at all — though many refused to move even with the lack of services. Clarksville still maintained its school which enrolled 69 students in 1924, 66 in 1934 and 70 in 1940. During the 1960s the school building was moved to O. Henry Junior High School.
Clarksville residents used kerosene lamps until 1930 and the community remained surrounded by woods. In later years as Clarksville felt the pressures of an expanding White community, they say the surrounding area was filled with spacious, middle-class homes. Clarksville residents unsuccessful protested a state and local plan to build a highway along the Missouri Pacific Railroad—what is now the MoPac Expressway. This caused 26 families to be relocated. Twenty-three families left of their own accord. Between 1970 and 1976 the number of homes in Clarksville decreased from 162 to less than 100.
Mopac (loop 1) at Clarksville. Citation: [PICA-36058], Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
When the land in Clarksville rose in value, so did municipal improvements and in 1977 a development company bought lots and built houses to attract a young, white middle-class population. Rent costs increased for older residents and so, the Clarksville Community Development Corporation formed in 1978 to establish community services and low-cost housing to retain the area’s Black population and to promote the return of former residents.
One of the oldest houses within the community is the Hazikiel Haskell House built around 1875 at 1703 Waterston Avenue. An Official Texas Historical Marker for the house is located on the property, and the building is also a City of Austin Local Historic Landmark. White encroachment on Clarksville has been an existential threat for over a century, but Clarksville's historical significance was officially recognized in the National Register of Historic Places.
Group portrait of African American children and staff at the well child clinic at Toyath and 11th St. in the Clarksville neighborhood. They are posed in front of a large house/building with white wood siding and two porches. Citation: [PICA-36005], Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Information provided by the African-American Settlement Survey Travis County, Texas prepared by prepared by Hicks & Company Elizabeth Porterfield, MSHP for Travis County Historical Commission.
This information was supplemented by archivist at the University of North Texas, Michelle Mears, from her book And Grace Will Lead Me Home African American Freedmen Communities of Austin, Texas, 1865-1928.
Additional information was provided by the Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas.
We recognize that this research is ongoing, drawing extensively from historical documents, archives, and oral histories passed down through generations.
Given the evolving nature of information, it is important to note that details may change. And while inaccuracies may arise, we actively strive to update our records as we acquire new knowledge.