Pilot Knob

The Pilot Knob community was significantly developed by two African-American families: the Alexander and the Collins family. The Alexanders and the Collins are considered among the founding African American families in Austin. After the Civil War both families founded extensive freedmen farming communities in close proximity to one another. The area of Pilot Knob was named that due to its unusual geological formation — a series of elevated mounds that are believed to be the core of an extinct volcano. The name was later applied to the broader community. 

The Alexander Family was founded in 1847 by then-enslaved renowned horse breeder and trainer, Daniel Alexander. Born in 1810 he and his mother, Ceny, were enslaved to the McKinney family. During this time he was introduced to Emeline Adams, an Irish indentured servant in the McKinney household, who would become his wife. They homesteaded in the McKinney Falls and Onion Creek area of Travis County sometime around 1846.

As an expert racehorse trainer and breeder he was an asset to the McKinney family. This afforded him privileges that most enslaved people in Texas were not granted until after emancipation. This included allowing Daniel to own land by way of homesteading — in 1847 the McKinney’s transferred 73 ⅓ acres of land to him through a verbal contract that was then finalized in 1879. After 175 years, the Alexander family still maintains ownership of the property. 

In 1977 the Alexander Farm was recognized as the fourth-oldest family farm in Travis County by the Texas Family Land Heritage Program.

Currently, three houses remain on the property.

The Collins family also played an important role in the development of the Pilot Knob area. Patriarch Newton Isaac Collins came to the area in 1891 after trading previously purchased land in East Austin. He was key in constructing a schoolhouse, establishing a Methodist church and developing a cemetery. Collins passed on his land to all of his children, including his daughters. His son, Dee Gabriel Collins expanded the family farm and carried on his legacy of philanthropy and education. Dee Gabriel Collins Road off US-183 is named in his honor. 

The Collins family still holds onto a good portion of agricultural property at 7601 Dee Gabriel Collins Road.

The property has been recognized by the Texas Family Land Heritage Program and a memorial marker commemorating the designation is at the entrance of the Collins property. There are at least two visible historical houses — including a 1930s stone house and a 1920s Craftsman bungalow. The Collins family cemetery is located off Cottonmouth School Road on the west side and holds documented burials from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The former one room schoolhouse built by Dee Gabriel Collins was replaced with the Pilot Knob Rosenwald School built in 1930-1931. The school included two classrooms, a library/activities room, and outhouses. However, in the summer of 2016, the Rosenwald School, which had been converted into a residence burned to the ground. A standing brick chimney is the only visible reminder.

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 provided by The Alexander Farm.

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.