Dabney Hill Lodge Hall
Built before 1910, the two-story Ethiopian Star Lodge Hall is an important landmark in the Dabney Hill Freedom Colony and remains as its last surviving institutional structure. African-American fraternal groups such as that in Dabney Hill played a decisive role in shaping the political and economic life of their communities. State and national lodge administrators encouraged local lodges to construct buildings as a way to learn about real estate development and construction, to provide a secure meeting space for group meetings, and to generate a source of revenue for building maintenance through rental of ground floor spaces. The Dabney Hill lodge hall was no exception, and it also sheltered visiting pastors and Black travelers who were not permitted to stay in nearby hotels.
It is not known how many African-American lodge halls were constructed in rural Texas between 1865 and 1930 when Freedom Colonies were at their peak. Yet it is known that very few remain, and the rehabilitation of the Ethiopian Star Lodge Hall will allow it to once again serve as a useful community landmark and a reminder of the history of its people.
UPDATE: The Dabney Hill Lodge Hall will be awarded a grant of $75,000 through Preservation Texas's Rural African-American Heritage Grants Program to fund critical stabilization and weatherproofing measures. Preservation planning by architect Donna Carter will be made possible by a grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation administered by Preservation Texas and funds provided by the Summerlee Foundation.
ADDRESS: CR 267, Snook (Burleson County)
DESIGNATION: NRHP-eligible
CONDITION: Poor
OWNER: Dabney Hill Missonary Baptist Church
RESOURCE TYPE: Institutional
YEAR LISTED: 2021
