My annual “Introduction to Public History” course at Texas State University support ongoing efforts to document and interpret socially inclusive landscapes in central Texas. Our projects in partnership with the Travis County Historical Commission (CHC) include the following.
HAYDEN SPRINGS FREEDOM COLONY PROJECT
Students and I helped document the history of a post-Emancipation Freedom Colony near Manor, TX known as Hayden Springs. I compiled and edited student research on founding community members of Hayden Springs in a report prepared by Preservation Central for the Travis CHC. Students shared their research with community members at an oral history workshop in Manor in Spring 2022. This project was supported by a Certified Local Government Grant from the National Park Service.
TRAVIS COUNTY FREEDOM COLONIES PROJECT
Students and I researched the family histories and mapped property boundaries of Black landowners in east Travis County to help document additional Freedom Settlements near Manor, TX. I compiled and edited our class research report for the Travis CHC to support their ongoing study of independent Black farming communities after the Civil War.
EAST 6TH STREET BLACK BUSINESS DISTRICT PROJECT
Students and I researched the history of Black businesses that populated Austin’s downtown East 6th Street before the city’s 1928 Master Plan accelerated racial segregation through zoning reform. The introduction to our (draft) report for the Travis CHC is available below.
RUBY ORAM 