Horst’s Pasture

Horst’s Pasture was a short-lived freedom community located in the area of what is now present-day East 26th Street and I-35. Part of the original land is likely to have been part of the former Horst Plantation, owned by German immigrant Louis Horst hence its name even though it might not have had an official designation. Archivist Michelle Mears has said that the absence of a school or church in the area may have impacted its short tenure as a community. The area was identified as a freedmen settlement in 1986 by an elderly African American elder, Toby Scott. According to Ancestry.com data indicates that “the Horst Plantation occupied much of the area where the University of Texas is located.” Reportedly one of the Horst’s sons is said to have had children with a formerly enslaved woman named Frances Jane Ridge Densmore. And so, it is likely that formerly enslaved peoples and their descendants settled in the area near the plantation after the Civil War and emancipation.

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.

We recognize that this research is ongoing, drawing extensively from historical documents, archives, and oral histories passed down through generations.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.