Jack Yates was able to significantly improve his economic and social standing after emancipation. In addition to becoming a minister, he became involved in real estate investment and encouraged others in the community to do so as well. He got involved in politics, serving as an alderman and in the Texas legislature. He also helped establish the Houston Baptist Academy in 1865, which would become Houston College, the forerunner of Texas Southern University. At the Academy, students would learn basic subjects but also skilled trades, which helped them start their own businesses. In this and other ways, Yates played an important role in improving&nbsp;the African American community's economic and social situation&nbsp;in Houston.

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church was built in 1879, becoming the first Black Baptist church in Houston.

Though surrounded by modern skyscrapers, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church remains an enduring landmark for Houston's African American history. Built in 1879 after four years of construction, Antioch Missionary is the first and oldest Black Baptist church in Houston. Its first minister was John "Jack" Henry Yates (1828-1897), who was an influential member of the city's African American community. He was born into slavery but was finally freed in 1865 after emancipation was enacted in Texas. The church building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is a simple Gothic structure featuring a tower and stained-glass windows. 

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

This short walk along Bagby Street in downtown Houston includes several landmark buildings such as the Julia Bedford Ideson Building, City Hall, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, and the Heritage Society. The tour also includes the Architecture Center Houston and numerous historical markers. 

Houston's Historic Bagby Street Walking Tour

Architecture Center Houston is located downtown at 315 Capitol, Suite 120 on the corner of Bagby and Capitol.&nbsp;This exhibit is free and open to the public.

Architecture Center Houston (ArCH) is the home of the Houston Chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the Architecture Center Houston Foundation. The 5,000-square-foot space among others includes a gallery for rotating architecture-related exhibits. ArCH also leads weekend walking tours of some of Houston's most interesting neighborhoods.

Architecture Center Houston (ArCH)

Despite the city's relatively small size at that time, only 300,000 residents, the committee chose Houston over Chicago, Cleveland, and Detroit in hopes that the party might do better to appease the largely Protestant and prohibitionist South that formed an important base of the party. Despite the fact that the South had been solidly Democratic since the end of Reconstruction, this was the first Democratic convention held in the South since before the Civil War. Sam Houston Hall was built in just 64 days. During the convention, anti-prohibitionist New York Governor Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944) was nominated for president.&nbsp;Senate Majority Leader Joseph T. Robinson, who supported prohibition, was nominated for vice president. The Republican nominee for president, Herbert Hoover, would go onto win in November. He also won Texas, becoming the first Republican to do so.&nbsp;&nbsp;

This historical marker commemorates the 1928 Democratic National Convention, which was held here on this site from June 26-29 in a building called Sam Houston Hall. Houston was chosen thanks in large part to local businessman Jess H. Jones. An influential member of the Democratic Party in Texas, Jones traveled to Washington D.C. to deliver a certified check for $200,000 to enter the city's bid the Democratic National Committee. The marker is located on Ruck Street next to the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

1928 Democratic National Convention - Historical Marker

In 1972, the United Nations declared that 1975 would the International Women's Year and the U.N. conference was held in Mexico City that year. To further the goals of that conference in U.S., in January&nbsp;1975 President Ford issued an executive order that created a National Commission on the Observance of International Women's Year, whose goal was to promote gender equality. Congress then authorized tax-payer funds for state conferences, during&nbsp;which delegates were elected to go to the national conference in Houston. Over the course of four-day gathering, participants debated the 26 resolutions. Among the speakers who attended were Betty Ford, Lady Bird Johnson, Maya Angelou, and Coretta Scott King. The conference was chaired by Bella Abzug. There was also a counter-conference&nbsp;of conservative women led by Phyllis Schlafly. It was held at a different location&nbsp;and attracted around 15,000 participants. Its purpose was to promote traditional, pro-family values and as such was anti-feminist. Participants opposed lesbian rights, legal abortion, and the Equal Rights Amendment. As stated above,&nbsp;the conference produced the National Plan of Action which was delivered to Congress&nbsp;in March 1978. President Carter soon&nbsp;established the National Advisory Committee for Women and the Senate passed a three-year extension for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (35 states ratified it up to that point, three short of the required 38). This extension was considered a significant achievement (the amendment ultimately failed in 1982). Thus, despite the counter-conference and the&nbsp;heated debates that ensued, the conference was an important milestone in the women's movement.

This marker commemorates the National Women's Conference on November 18-21, 1977, which was held here in the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (then called the Sam Houston Coliseum). The conference was the first large-scale political gathering of women since the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. Around 2,000 delegates from all fifty states and six territories participated, and between 15,000-20,000 others were present as observers. Generally speaking, the purpose of the conference was to address the discrimination against women. Participants assessed the role of women in American society by examining several issues including reproductive rights, sexual orientation, national healthcare, education reform, and the Equal Rights Amendment—the proposed amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee equal rights for all Americans regardless of gender. The conference produced a pamphlet called the National Plan of Action that listed 26 demands to improve women's lives. The conference contributed significantly to the women's rights movement and also to Houston's social and cultural development. 

Site of the National Women's Conference November 18 - 21, 1977 - Historical Marker

Two brothers, J.K. and A.C. Allen, founded Houston on August 30, 1836 just a few months after the end of the Texas War for Independence. They named the new settlement for the hero of that war, General Sam Houston. From 1841 to 1939, Houston municipal government was headquartered at Old Market Square, on a site donated to the City by Houston's founder, the Allen brothers. The City Hall on Market Square was destroyed by fire in the 1870s, and again in 1901, and rebuilt each time.&nbsp;City Hall in those days was part of the lively commercial atmosphere of Market Square. City offices were located on the second floor of the municipal building. The first floor tenant was a fish market. By the 1920s, it had become apparent that these facilities were no longer adequate for the municipal government. In 1927, voters approved by wide margins bond issues for the construction of a new Civic Center ($1.4 million) and a new City Hall ($1 million).&nbsp; During the Depression, plans for constructing the City Hall were temporarily sidetracked. In 1933, however, the City applied for a federal Public Works Administration grant to help finance the construction of a new City Hall. Straw votes on building a new City Hall were taken in 1933, 1934 and 1935, In 1934 voters rejected a proposition to build the City Hall, but also voted that if one were to be built, it should be put on the Civic Center site rather than at Market Square. On August 8, 1937, the City Hall W.P.A. grant was approved. The City Commission authorized the taking of bids on the City Hall bond funds originally approved in 1927. Mayor R.H. Fonville and the Commissioners also passed an ordinance designating the west end of Martha Hermann Square as the site of the new City Hall.&nbsp;Construction began on March 7, 1938. The cornerstone was laid on October 1, 1938. A time capsule was placed in the cornerstone, containing a Bible, copies of the City charter, Houston's three daily newspapers and the City Auditor's report for 1937.&nbsp;

Houston City Hall was built in 1939 with funding from the Works Progress Administration. From 1841 to 1939, Houston's municipal government was headquartered at Old Market Square It was destroyed by fire in the 1870s, and also in 1901, and rebuilt each time. In those days, City Hall was part of the lively commercial atmosphere of the Square. However, by the 1920s, the city leaders decided the site was no longer appropriate for their needs. 

In 1929, the city's planning commission urged the establishment of a new city hall  but the Great Depression reduced funding and the project was delayed until a federal WPA grant helped finance construction between 1938-1939. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. It was designed by Joseph Finger in the Art Deco style, appearing classical yet modern in appearance.

Houston City Hall

General Santa Anna of Mexico and Interim President David G. Burnet
of Texas signed the Treaties of Velasco, between Mexico and the Republic of
Texas, which Texans intended to end hostilities between Mexico and Texas and
begin the official breakaway of the independent Texas Republic. There were two
treaties—a public and a secret one; however, the validity of both was later
questioned, as Santa Anna had only signed them under duress while being held
prisoner. Even after the treaties were signed, Mexico viewed Texas as a
breakaway province but was too weak to attempt further attacks and invasions.
Notably, the documents were not even called treaties until President James K.
Polk called them such while justifying war about ten years later. The public
treaty’s terms included releasing Santa Anna to Veracruz; however, he was kept
as a prisoner of war for six months until travelling to Washington DC to meet
with President Andrew Jackson about negotiating a permanent peace between
Mexico and Texas. Following this, he sailed to Veracruz on the USS Pioneer,
escorted by the US Navy and arrived in Veracruz on February 23, 1837.

Sam Houston rode into the city with his government on April
1, 1837. On December 5, 1837, some important Texas figures, such as war heroes,
founded the Texas Philosophical Society. The Philosophical Society of Texas for
the Collection and Diffusion of Knowledge’s initial goal was to create a space
for the unification of great minds of the day, including scientists, scholars,
military commanders, and travelers. Current proceedings of the organization
include lectures on energy policy, discussion about immigration within the
state of Texas, and current national security policy.

Located in Sam Houston Park, this marker describes the history of what was once the Republic of Texas. During Texas’ time as an independent republic (March 2, 1836-February 19, 1846), Houston served for a brief time as the Republic’s capital under the domain of President Sam Houston before the next president, Mirabeau B. Lamar, moved the capital to Austin in 1839. The republic gained independence from Mexico in 1836. Its land included all of present-day Texas as well as portions of present-day Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico.

Republic of Texas - Historical Marker

Ideson was hired in 1903 and led the city library in its early decades. Houston's first public library opened in 1904 thanks largely to the efforts of several Houston women's organizations. The library that predated this building was also made possible by a matching grant from Andrew Carnegie. That first library was officially named the Houston Lyceum and Carnegie Library Building, but most residents simply referred to it as the Houston Public Library.&nbsp;

Constructed in 1926, this Houston library was renamed in 1951 to honor of Julia Bedford Ideson, the first librarian hired by the city of Houston who was largely responsible for this building. This building served as the city's main library until 1976. The building is now home to the Houston Metropolitan Research Center and its collection of items related to Texas history and local history. Researchers and genealogists are welcome to utilize the center's collections which are full of one-of-a-kind artifacts such as rare books, manuscripts, diaries, historic newspapers, artwork, and photographs

Julia Ideson Building

Kellum’s two-story brick house was converted into the Parks
Department headquarters building after the City of Houston purchased the
property. Initially known as City Park, the green space became Sam Houston Park
in 1903. In 1954, the City of Houston began plans to raze the Kellum-Noble
House, which at the time had been vacant for several years. A group of citizens
formed the Harris County Heritage and Conservation Society, which is still in
existence and now known simply as “The Heritage Society.” They saved the home
and today it houses a museum. The park is home to several historic homes and
structures. The park is now home to several other historic structures. These
buildings include the Old Place, a log cabin dating back to 1823; Yates House,
which was originally in Freedman’s Town and dates back to at least 1870; and
St. John Church, an Evangelical Lutheran Church , which was built in 1891 by
German and Swiss immigrants and conducted services in German up until the
twentieth century. Austin colonist John R. Williams circa 1823 built the Old
Place, and it is believed to be the oldest structure still in existence in
Harris County. Originally located on Clear Creek, it was relocated to the park
in 1973. The Yates House was by former slave Jack Yates. Yates was the minister
of Houston’s first Black Baptist church and he also established a school for
Black children called Houston Academy.

&nbsp;Another historic home, called the Nichols-Rice-Cherry House
is also located in the park, moved from its original San Jacinto Street
location. A man from New York named Ebenezer B. Nichols built it around. William
Marsh Rice owned it from 1856-1873. Rice’s estate helped found present-day Rice
University, which was at the time known as Rice Institute, in 1912.&nbsp;

Sam Houston Park became the city’s first public park in 1899. Nathaniel Kelly Kellum originally purchased the thirteen acres of land in 1844 and 1845. Kellum built a brick factory, a tannery, and his home on the land. Zerviah Noble subsequently purchased the Kellum-Noble House and land. Mrs. Zerviah Noble ran one of Houston’s first private schools out of the house. 

Sam Houston Park - Historical Marker

Nathanial Kellum, after whom the house is partly named, arrived in the Republic of Texas (it was not part of the United States until 1846) in 1839, three years after it declared itself an independent republic. He built the house in 1847.&nbsp;Eventually the Noble family moved in&nbsp;and two of its residents,&nbsp;Zerviah and Catherine—wife and daughter respectively—ran one of the first schools in Texas in&nbsp;the house. The house is the oldest surviving house in the city and it still rests on its original foundation. It also still has its original brick walls. In 1899, the city bought the property and the surrounding land to create the park. The house served as the residence of the park keeper and the grounds around it became, for a short time, the location of the Houston zoo. It wasn't until 1954 that the Society was established to save the building.&nbsp;

Located in Sam Houston Park, the Heritage Society maintains nine historic structures dating from 1823 to 1905. The Heritage Society was founded by local historians in an effort to save the Kellum-Noble House which had been built in 1847 and was threatened with demolition. The Society also operates a museum at the corner of Bagby and Lamar Streets.

Houston's Historic Bagby Street Walking Tour

Antioch Missionary Baptist Church

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources