Protecting a legacy
Restoring historic bricks is first step for preserving Freedmen’s Town
Standing inches from where a worker had recently ripped up bricks laid by former slaves in the early 20th century, Mayor Sylvester Turner promised residents of the historic Freedmen’s Town that he would make things right for the community. Not only would the city restore the bricks, he said, but it would protect Freedmen’s legacy by creating a cultural district honoring its significance.
“We cannot undo the mistakes of two weeks ago, but we can ensure the area is not forgotten,” Turner said Thursday as he stood along Andrews Street.
Work will start Monday to repair approximately 200 bricks mistakenly damaged by a contractor who was supposed to leave historic parts of the Freedmen’s Town road untouched. Work repairing the road should take about 12 weeks to complete, at the contractor’s cost, city officials said. Efforts creating the historic district, however, will take longer.
Community leaders vowed to hold Turner to his word and help turn the neighborhood into an example of historic preservation rather than lost opportunities.
“Historic preservation can be a job creator and an economic engine,” U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, said, noting officials must balance the beneficial growth in the area with attention to historic places. “A lot of people think Houston is a young city, but we have many, many stories, and they should be told.”
Specifics of what the historic
district would develop or what limits it could put on preserving buildings in the bustling area are issues to be addressed as the district is formed, Turner said. “In the midst of the newness, we can still preserve the old.”
Whatever occurs, the mayor said, will have constant input from community leaders, notably those involved in protecting the bricks over the past few years, as a number of sewer and redevelopment projects damaged and displaced some of the bricks.
Those who watched and fought for the bricks welcomed the commitment.
“Good things come when you struggle,” said Dorris Ellis Robinson, president of the Freedmen’s Town Preservation Coalition.
Pieces of history
Struggle is a near-constant part of Freedmen’s Town’s history, settled by free blacks when the land was considered undesirable because of flooding from nearby Buffalo Bayou. When city leaders refused to repair their streets, church and community leaders stepped in.
Organizing among themselves, freed slaves and their descendants fabricated the bricks and laid them in the streets. Along with other buildings around Houston and Emancipation Park, the bricks are a direct connection to black residents who settled a segregated Houston and established deep roots here.
“There is no other city that has that kind of original footprint from freed people,” said Eileen Lawal, a supporter of local historic preservation efforts.
As Houston has begun redeveloping its core neighborhoods, townhomes have cropped up where older downtrodden houses once stood. While the growth has been welcomed, it’s also put more pressure on city services and placed the bricks in harm’s way. Sewer work has been going on around Fourth Ward for more than two years.
That’s led a coalition of community officials to closely watch the development and hold the city responsible. It was a neighbor who stopped the latest incident from escalating.
Workers with BRH-Garver Construction displaced the bricks Nov. 21 when they attempted to move a buried concrete slab impeding their work on a drainage project along Genessee. Raising the slab with a backhoe brought up a 6-foot-by10-foot section of the bricks on Andrews, outside the bounds of the construction area.
The resident stopped the crew, and the bricks were salvaged and saved. Public works director Dale Rudick said city officials assessed the situation, as they had given the contractor strict orders to not do anything on Genessee without notifying them.
Repair plan
All of the bricks will be returned to their original place by the contractor after they have been cleaned, and others removed to make a straight line along the current drainage project, Turner said.
That work, he assured residents, would occur with a city archaeologist overseeing the job on-site.
While the incident was unfortunate, Turner said he had reiterated the need to preserve the area, and the city will improve how it oversees projects in Freedmen’s Town to prevent further mishaps.
“What we can do is do our very best to repair the damage,” he said.
Once the bricks are back, Turner said no further construction will occur on Genessee as work moves south.
The city’s promises have already repaired some of the trust with the community, said Elmo Johnson, pastor of Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church, a short walk from the displaced bricks.
“We’re all interested in working together,” Johnson said, adding various interests have to be involved in settling what historic features should enjoy protection. “It’s never too late to start working together.”
Officials said they were looking at historic districts around the country for ideas and inspiration, notably efforts in Tyler and Savannah, Ga., where city leaders established historic districts that included brick and cobblestone streets.
Jackson Lee said she could also draw inspiration from places like Atlanta and Charleston, S.C., that have successfully preserved African-American history in downtown neighborhoods.
Officials from Fourth Ward to Washington should band together to support the Freedmen’s Town efforts, she said, and recognize that Houston can have new development, better infrastructure and historic preservation simultaneously.
“I think the selling point is a great water system but at the same time a great economic engine for the new families moving in,” she said. “The new neighbors can have — one — a very high quality of life, but also be in walking distance of major history.”