1.8% Landownership
African American farmer landownership rates in Texas were reported at 1.8 percent.
Texas Historic Homes / Texas History
Texas
Texas
Freedom Colonies
Discover the history of Texas Freedom Colonies, the African American communities established after emancipation, and the continuing efforts to preserve their homes, land, and heritage.
An Important Part of Texas History
Preserving the Stories of Texas's Historic Black Communities.
While much of the European settlement of Texas has been well documented and remembered in history books, the stories of many African American settlements are less widely known.
Dr. Andrea Roberts, formerly of Texas A&M University, founded the Texas Freedom Colonies Project to identify, document, and map these historic Black Texan communities.
The Project recognizes the people who established independent communities, purchased land, created family farms, developed schools and churches, and passed their heritage from one generation to the next.
History / Emancipation and Landownership
What Are Texas Freedom Colonies?
Following the Civil War, formerly enslaved African Americans worked to establish independent lives, acquire property, and create communities of their own.
Building Independence After Emancipation
After the Civil War, many formerly enslaved people and poor white farmers became trapped in another exploitative agricultural arrangement known as sharecropping.
Sharecropping helped wealthy landowners maintain economic control of the South following the abolition of slavery.
Some independent-minded formerly enslaved people instead settled on land considered unsuitable for profitable farming and transformed it into successful family farms.
These Black-owned farms developed into communities with their own cultures, institutions, and traditions.
Hundreds of Freedom Colonies, also known as Freedmen's Towns, were established across Texas between 1865 and the early twentieth century.
These communities provided opportunities for greater independence and mutual support amid the discrimination, segregation, and racial violence of the Jim Crow South.
26% Landownership
Landownership increased significantly as Black Texans established farms and independent communities.
31% Landownership
Rates reportedly reached approximately 31 percent soon after 1900.
Historical landownership figures attributed in the original article to historian Thad Sitton.
Historic Preservation / Research
Dr. Andrea Roberts & the Texas Freedom Colonies Project.
Dr. Andrea Roberts established the Texas Freedom Colonies Project in 2014 to bring greater recognition to historic African American settlements throughout Texas.
The Project works with descendant communities, researchers, preservationists, and other organizations to document settlement histories and protect significant cultural places.
Its research emphasizes the importance of family land, historic homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, and community memories.
Visit the Official Project
Central Texas / Historic Communities
Texas Freedom Colonies Near Austin.
Several Freedom Colonies were established in Williamson and Travis Counties, including communities near present-day Austin, Georgetown, Liberty Hill, and Pflugerville.
Williamson County
Two Communities IdentifiedMiller Community / Jenks Branch
The Miller Community, also known as Jenks Branch, was located near present-day River Ranch Country Park off Highway 183 in Liberty Hill, Texas.
Rocky Hollow
Rocky Hollow was situated near the present-day intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and Andice Road in Georgetown, Texas.
Travis County
Historic Austin CommunitiesWheatville
One of the historic Freedom Colonies identified near the center of Austin, Texas.
Clarksville
A historic freedmen's community in Austin and one of the city's best-known Black settlements established after emancipation.
Robertson Hill
Another historic African American community documented near central Austin.
Masontown
A historic Black settlement identified in the original account of Austin-area Freedom Colonies.
Burdett's Prairie / Montopolis
Burdett's Prairie, also identified in the original article as Montopolis, was among the historic settlements near Austin.
Kincheonville
The historic Kincheonville settlement was located near Brodie Lane in South Austin.
Webberville
The Freedom Colony at Webberville developed as part of an existing small town that continues to carry the same name.
Littig
Littig remains a small community along Littig Road in eastern Travis County.
Pflugerville Colored Addition
The Pflugerville Colored Addition was located across from Pflugerville High School, according to the original article. The area was later developed into a commercial center with small businesses, including Central Texas Animal Hospital and Creative Kids Preschool.
The original article documents
ten Freedom Colonies in Travis County
and identifies nine by name.
The communities listed above
preserve those nine names without
introducing an unverified tenth settlement.
Austin / African American Heritage
The Communities Behind Austin's History.
The story of Austin is also the story of African American families who established homes, churches, schools, businesses, and communities despite segregation and discrimination.
Historic homes and remaining community landmarks provide important connections to the people and places that shaped Central Texas.
Preserving the Past: Photographs, oral histories, family records, and remaining historic buildings help document the experiences of Freedom Colony descendants.
Heritage / Historic Preservation
Why Many Freedom Colonies Disappeared.
Over time, population changes, economic pressures, and migration contributed to the disappearance or transformation of many historic Freedom Colonies.
Changes Across Generations.
A variety of factors led descendants of Freedom Colonies to disperse, including the Great Depression, World War II, and social changes associated with the Civil Rights Movement.
As industrialization expanded, many people migrated from rural agricultural communities to larger cities.
This migration left behind farms, homes, community buildings, and settlements that gradually lost much of their original populations.
The original article observed that only three of twelve identified settlements near Austin remained meaningfully visible at the time. This is a historical observation, not a current preservation survey.
Some communities continue to be remembered through Juneteenth celebrations, land stewardship, oral traditions, and the efforts of descendants.
Restoration / Preservation
Protecting Historic Homes, Land, and Community Heritage.
Although many Freedmen's towns have disappeared, some historic properties and cultural landscapes have survived.
Preserving Historic Homes
Protecting surviving homes and farmsteads helps maintain tangible connections to early African American communities in Texas.
Protecting Family Land
Helping descendants maintain ownership of inherited land and property is an important part of long-term community preservation.
Churches, Schools & Cemeteries
Historic churches, schools, cemeteries, and gathering places preserve the stories of communities that may no longer appear on modern maps.
Oral Histories & Family Stories
Documenting descendants' experiences, photographs, traditions, and family histories helps preserve cultural knowledge for future generations.
Dr. Andrea Roberts and the Texas Freedom Colonies Project have worked with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, historical associations, researchers, and private individuals to promote preservation and strengthen descendant communities.
Real estate ownership, particularly land retained across generations, can provide a foundation for economic security, wealth creation, and community continuity.
Research / Documentation / Community Action
01 / MAPPING
02 / HISTORICAL RECORDS
03 / PRESERVATION
04 / LANDOWNERSHIP
05 / EDUCATION
06 / COLLABORATION
What Is the Texas Freedom Colonies Project?
The Texas Freedom Colonies Project is a research, preservation, and social justice initiative dedicated to documenting African American settlements, supporting descendants, and protecting historic Black cultural landscapes.
Historically, the lack of comprehensive records and mapping made many settlements difficult to locate and preserve. The Project seeks to address those gaps through research, mapping, community collaboration, and historical documentation.
Community Atlas
Identifying and mapping historic Freedom Colonies across Texas through interactive geographic research tools.
Documenting Stories
Recording descendants' origin stories, oral histories, photographs, interviews, and settlement histories.
Protecting Landmarks
Supporting the preservation of historic homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, and cultural landscapes.
Preventing Land Loss
Researching how descendants maintain family land and protect intergenerational wealth.
Sharing Cultural Memory
Examining how communities pass historical knowledge, traditions, and collective memory to younger generations.
Research & Planning
Working with community members, scholars, preservationists, and planning agencies to develop research and preservation strategies.
Historical Project Context: The original article described research collaborations with Texas A&M University's Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Center for Heritage Conservation, and Institute for Sustainable Communities. Dr. Roberts subsequently moved to the University of Virginia.
Digital History / Interactive Research
Explore the Texas Freedom Colonies Atlas.
One of the Project's major accomplishments was the introduction of the Texas Freedom Colony Atlas in July 2018.
The Atlas was developed to help identify and document historic Freedom Colony locations throughout Texas. It brings geographic information, community research, and historical records together in an accessible digital resource.
The original article described an initiative to document more than 558 Freedom Colonies. Research and mapping continue to evolve as more information becomes available.
Texas Historic Homes Archive
Historic Archive & Current Home Pricing.
This article was originally published in August 2018 and updated in June 2022. Its historical descriptions, settlement locations, photographs, and community information have been preserved as part of the Texas Historic Homes archive.
Some historical descriptions, figures, and institutional affiliations reflect information available when the article was written. The Texas Freedom Colonies Project's official website provides more recent research.
Historic property information should not be interpreted as a current real estate listing or pricing report.
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