St. John Colony
Zion Union Missionary Baptist Church
1906 St. John Colony School
St. John Colony Cemetery
St. John Freedom Colony was established in the 1870’s by a group of fourteen freedman families who came to the area to escape racial violence and establish a community. At its height in the 1910s, St. John Colony included more than 2,200 acres owned and farmed by members of the community, family homes, stores, a cotton gin, grist mill and a post office. The two-room schoolhouse, built in 1906, still stands today. Also remaining are two churches, St. John Landmark and Zion Union Missionary Baptist, and St John Colony Cemetery where hundreds of community ancestors are buried.
A sharp decline in population over the last fifty years has left the community without the manpower or resources needed to maintain the collection of historic buildings and sites at St John Colony. As a result, the buildings are undergoing demolition by neglect, and the cultural landscape is threatened by encroachment from Austin suburban development. In addition to the funding and technical expertise required to arrest the deterioration of the historic buildings on the site, a serious research effort is needed at St John to document and explore the cultural landscape of this significant Texas freedom colony before it is lost forever.
Learn More:
St. John Colony, Texas, endures for 150 years of grace, Austin American-Statesman
LOCATION: Near 1200 Chamberlin Rd., Dale (Caldwell County)
DESIGNATION: None
STATUS: Endangered
OWNER: Community Descendants
RESOURCE TYPE: African-American Heritage, Cultural Landscape
YEAR LISTED: 2023
