Navasota has many shops and artisans in its historic downtown district, including antique, gift, and boutique stores and art galleries housed in old classic stone and brick structures. But we'uns had plenty to eat and us slaves didn' know what de War was 'bout. "The ranch went on jus' like it always had before the war. "My mother sold into slavery in Georgia, or round dere. I's sev'ral times needed a whuppin', but de marster never gives dis nigger more'n a good scoldin'. He told me once he lived in New York and, "I's borned in Grimes County, ninety years ago. I was bo'n in slavery, and I was a right sizeable gal when freedom come. The Gov'nor told the law to give 'em the old guns in the com'sary, what the Southern soldiers had used, so they issued the cullud men old muskets and said protect themselves. My foreman was Tom Flaniganhe must have been a full-blooded Frenchman! He served as marshal until 1911. He tol' us we'uns could go if we'uns wanted to. "Navasota" redirects here. "De place I am borned am right near Atlanta, in Georgia, and on dat plantation of Massa John Blackshier. [7], Navasota was considered such a "wild and woolly" place that women and children were discouraged from going downtown even in broad daylight. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.39. The site remains a gathering place for history events, recreation, and family reunions. The website will provide Hamer became more widely known in 1934 as one of the men who shot Bonnie and Clyde. So, on Christmas night, de chillen takes dem and puts dem on de stick. Hamer faced down, chased down, and beat down the Navasota toughs until the streets were quiet, and children could once again go downtown. [21], The Navasota Independent School District includes five traditional campuses and one academic alternative school campus. "Yes, suh, everybody happy on massa's place till war begin. Its name was changed in 1858 to Navasota, a name perhaps derived from the Native American word nabatoto (muddy water). They played marbles, see-saw and rode. Two of dem am burnt purty bad. I 'vides (divide) my time 'tween my daughter here and de one in Houston. When it's over, de Marster comes home and dey holds a big celebration. "It 'bout two year after freedom mammy gits marry and us goes and works on shares. De white man preacher marry us and mistus she give me 'way. I 'member de first time de Yankees pass by, my mother lift me up on de fence. "We knowed freedom was on us, but we didn't know what was to come with it. The kids didn't know War was happenin'. Dey was my mudder and me and de ole mistus and marster on de plantation. All de time de men's away, I could tell Missy Elline and her mamma was worried. Massa say not mix with dat crowd what lose de head, jus' stay to home and work. [4] In 2005, the Texas Legislature designated Navasota as the "Blues Capital of Texas" in honor of the late Mance Lipscomb, a Navasota native and blues musician.[5]. History of slavery: Newspaper ads used to find family after emancipation. My daddy was a field hand and my mother worked in the fields, too, right 'longside my daddy, so she could keep him lined up. I ain't no flour-bread eater. "When war was over I come back here and now I'm too old to work and the state gives me a pension and me and my granddaughter live on that. Dey was one Mef'dis' Chu'ch and one Baptis' Chu'ch in Jasper. Near as you kin guess, dat was 'bout 50 year' ago. A Grimes County grand jury convicted two suspects in August 2012. If I live till December, I'll be 102 years old, and dis ole heart have been pumpin' and pumpin' all dem years and have missed nary a beat till dis las' year. ", "Ol' marster he was good to his slaves. My gramma toted de key to dat smokehouse and ol' mistus she'd tell her what to go and git for de white folks and de cullud folks. That happened the second year after the War. I says, 'Why say molasses when I's got no 'lasses.' I got fo' brudders livin', but nary a sister. If dey sick, dey didn't habe to work and he give dem de med'cine hisself. They didn't meet 'cept when they heered the Klu Kluxes was coming to get some cullud folks. Then he chuckled to himself and said: "'Warmth of the wind Nothin' was different. Den I goes to Dallas and cooks for private families, and wo'ks for Marster James Ellison for 30 years. Dey was a ol' Geo'gia hoss bed in it. My wife died three years later. The master said that Calisy, that my mother, was the best fieldhand he had, and Calvin, that my daddy, was the laziest. The Gudlows started us out on a ranch. As many Navasota citizens, including the mayor, fled to escape the disease, the town population dropped by about 50 percent. An Anglo-Texas man of Scots-Irish descent who suffered being kidnapped from his natural family at the age of five by a Native American raiding party, he returned to the Native American people of his own free will after being ransomed back from the Comanche. A big place, with 'bout 150 growed slaves and 'bout 50 pickininnies. Navasota was founded by European-Americans in 1831 as a stagecoach stop named "Nolansville." Slavery was greater in the south because of the lands environmental conditions, which allowed the growth of multiple kinds of Leavin' the thicket, In 1908, Navasota was still a Wild West boomtown: according to one source, "shootouts on the main street were so frequent that in two years at least a hundred men had died". If he cotch dem tryin' play off sick, den he lay into dem, or if he cotch dem loafin'. And us better leave eb'ryt'ing clean and no litter 'roun'. The only misery I had was when a black spider bit me on the ear. Nobody took our homes away, but right off colored folks started on the move. I don' 'member anything 'bout my pappy, but I 'member Marster Henderson jus' like 'twas las' week. Dat half a day off on Sadday was for de slaves to wash and clean up deyselfs. Washington County is in the Blackland Prairies region of southeast central Texas. Reported in the Bryan Eagle and Navasota Examiner. "Like I jes' say, I knows what I's talkin' 'bout, 'cause I use to be a slave myself and I don't know how to read and write. It's my heart. Horse mint breaks the fever. We couldn't no more shoot 'em than we could fly. Run, kitty, run.'. ", "I don' 'member seein' no sojers. Let's see, now. But I's had two strokes and I ain't able to go to town no mo'. Then he laughed: "No, you ain't. De white preacher talk 'bout Christ. I's pleased to see my mammy, but after a few days I wants to go back to Marshall with Marster Zeke. Miss Ca'lina she name' me. Us hab chicken and all kinds of good things. Then the old Negro began searching his 92 years of reminiscences, intermixing his findings with philosophy, poetry and prognostications. But it didn't turn out that way. Sometime dey mek 'em in co'n sacks and sometime dey put 'em in a tick what dey weave on de loom. "Durin' de War, things was 'bout de same, like always, 'cept some vittles was scarce. She make linseed poultice and kep' de bu'n grease good. "I 'members seein' Faith Baldwin and Jeb Johnson and Dan Hester gittin' whupped by de Klux. Sister Johnson say to me outside of services last Sunday night, 'Brother Harper, you is de beatines' man I ever seen. My father, he'd round up cattle, unbranded cattle, for the whites. As of the census[3] of 2010, 7,049 people, 2,206 households, and 1,726 families reside in the city. Many men were left dead and many were wounded after this little known battle, perhaps the greatest race battle ever fought in Texas. ", "Dey didn' know nuffin' 'bout preachin' and Sunday School in dem times. Dey load up my sack and sometime dey bring me stuff in a car right dere to dat gate. Dat am long time, child. "When you ask me is I Pierce Harper, you kind of 'sprised me. I mean dat de las' time I heard of 'em dey was livin'. MANDY HADNOT, small and forlorn looking, as she lies in a huge, old-fashioned wooden bed, appears very black in contrast to the clean white sheets and a thick mop of snowy wool on her head. Den when extra loud noise come from de cannon, she scream. Some of 'em didn't want to go. Dey has de power, and it am done for to show dey has de power. A survey Mr. Swanson was good and he was mean. They'd go to the jails and take the cullud men out and knock their brains out and break their necks and throw 'em in the river. It was jus' a common lil' hoss. Us stay right on de place. June 20, 2012, Federal agents return to Navasota along with Navasota Police and arrest 21 area residents for drug trafficking. But here I is talking 'bout myself when you want to hear me talk 'bout slavery. But us don't leave Massa John, us go right on workin' for him like 'fore. They never caught him and after he crossed the Mason-Dixon line he was safe. Den when I 'cide to marry Bob Thomas, she he'p me fix a hope ches'. Whereas nearby Washington on the Brazos protested the coming of the rails, the old historic town forfeited its geographic advantage, and it began to decline as many of its businesses and residences began a sure migration to the new railhead across the Brazos River at Navasota. The city of Navasota earned a 2011 Gold Leadership Award from the Texas Comptroller's Office for efforts in transparency. I stops four years ago and comes out here to wait till de good Lawd calls me home. I stays with dem till 1875 and den marries Navasota Robert Grice and us live by farmin' till he die, nine year since. Slavery was integral to the local economy. "How did we know it! I uster sneak sugar out de barrel to feed Julie. Dey have good times on dat place, and don't want to leave. Us sees no battlin' but de cannon bang all day. WebName index of slave schedules from the 1860 Census of the United States. I knowed you was white man when you comes up the path and speaks. Purty soon my mudder die and I jus' took up her shoes. "Yes, sir, I'm Felix Haywood, and I can answer all those things that you want to know. [14] Other attractions include art galleries, the Horlock House Artists-in-Residence program and museum, live music venues, food truck parks and several murals that present great selfie locations for area visitors. The Navasota Rattlers were 3A Div. He mek 'em outer rough red russet ledder. When you git marry, you don't tell de man how old you is. Brule Elementary exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness. ", "Yas, I 'member de house I was raise in. '", "Land sakes, Felix!" During these days, Navasota was considered a wild and wooly place, where it was not considered safe for women and children to go downtown in broad daylight. "After the Klu Kluxes got so strong the cullud men got together and made the complaint before the law. Marster never crowded us 'bout de wo'k, and never give any of us whuppin's. High Point Elementary earned distinctions in ELA/Reading, Mathematics, Top 25 Percent Closing Gaps, Top 25 Percent Student Progress, and Post-Secondary Readiness. Them shirts wouldn't rip no more'n buckskin. You never knowed what he gwine to do. Navasota High School earned a distinction in ELA/Reading and exceeded state targets in Student Progress, Student Achievement, Closing Performance Gaps, and Post-Secondary Readiness. He wasn't no eddicated man, but he was what he calls himself a piano man. Well, that's how it was with us. Iffen it git to be a ser'ous ailment dey sen' for de reg'lar doctor. Navasota is a city in Grimes County, Texas, United States. "One time they had 12 men in jail, 'cused of robbin' white folks. "Me and my mother lef' right off and go to Palestine. "Dey use to have de little whip dey use on de women. Jump fru' de crack. I can't do much and lives on de $10.00 de month pension. I tell my chillen we didn't know no more about pants than a hawg knows about heaven; but I tells 'em that to make 'em laugh. Later, Stephen F. Austin gained an exception to the law from the Mexican government to entice more Americans ", "Dey raise dey own t'bacco on de place. Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. He use to live in a plain, wood house on de Palestine road. For full functionality please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Once, dey bang two whole days 'thout hardly stoppin'. He enjoy dat. Dey didn' hab no freezer den, jus' a big pan in some ice. Us hab chicken and turkey and cake. Marster asks us to come in and sing dat for de white folks, so we'uns goes in de house and sings dat for de white folks and dey jines in de chorus. You know everybody and everybody know you.' "I'm black, blacker than you are," said the caller. It also received the award in 2013. Ann related her story in a deep voice and a jovial manner. The grave of D. G. Mills in Day has dances and fun till de Ku Klux org'nizes and den it am lots of trouble. It was up pretty high and us chillun had to git on a box to git in dat bed. January 2002, Navasota city council default on revenue bonds, withdrawing the city from financial participation in the project known as the Pecan Lakes Golf Course, located near the citys airport off of Highway 105. "My ole mistus she pay me money right 'long after freedom but I too close to spen' any. An 1860 census reported 182,566 slaves, making up 30 percent of the states population, according to the Texas She was Mrs. Ella Thompson, Felix' youngest sister, who had known only seven years of slavery. Course, dey got beat, but dat didn't worry dem none, and it not long till dey gone 'gain. James, known as Uncle Jim, seems happy, still stands erect, and is very active for his age. [13] A statue of Frank Hamer stands in front of city hall, honoring the time he served as city marshal. I's 101 years ole, 'cause I's bo'n Dec. 28, 1835. The center of the county is at 3014' north latitude and 9624' west longitude. The average student to teacher ratio is 14:1. Guns were made in nearby Anderson, and cotton, gunpowder, and shoes were made, processed and stored there for the Southern Confederacy during the American Civil War. If they got so they made good money, and had a good farm, the Klu Klux would come and murder 'em. "I seed a lot of Southern soldiers and they'd go to the big house for something to eat. Slavery was integral to the local economy as planters depended on enslaved African Americans to labor for their large plantations. They got together and organized the militia and had leaders like reg'lar soldiers. When I's 'bout nine year ole she buy me a purty white dress and took me to jine de church. By 1860, the vast majority of enslaved Black people in Texaswho made up 30 percent of the states De preacher, he was big, jolly man, he come to de house 'bout one Sunday in every month. My sister born dere. Sometimes you didn't knowed it was goin' on. WebNavasota Jews first began to organize in 1874, when they bought land for a Jewish cemetery. Web1 language. Dat's when we was happy and celebrates. All we had to do was to walk, but walk South, and we'd be free as soon as we crossed the Rio Grande. ", "De ol' marster he didn' work he han's on Sunday and he give 'em half de day off on Sadday, too. Us been lib here many a year. In the late 1860s the KKK moved into Navasota, prompting a tense confrontation between federal soldiers and a crowd of local whites on one occasion. "When peace come they read the 'mancipation law to the cullud people and they stayed up half the night at Mr. Harper's, singing and shouting. Such goods were shipped south by rail to Galveston, where they could be transported by steamboat along the Texas coast and up the Mississippi River to the war effort or exported to Mexico or overseas to Europe. When he 'bout wo' out and ready to die, den he come. One day she tell us, 'De war am on us. Git dat li'l bonnet. In 1865, a warehouse filled with cotton and gunpowder exploded after it was torched by returning Confederate soldiers. Since I's been free, I sometimes have heaps of frettin'. One day I fotches a letter and I could feel it in my bones, dere was trouble in dat letter. We was all walkin' on golden clouds. Webslavery in navasota, texas. We thought we was goin' to get rich like the white folks. Reported by the Navasota Examiner and the Bryan Eagle. argo parts amazon. "I was born way back in 1851 in North Carolina, on Mr. Subbs' plantation, clost to Snow Hill, which was the county seat. De women folks don' talk much and no laughin' like 'fore. For a ripe, red mouth. Dere was jis' one room and one family to de cabin. It makes white men a little insulted when you dont know they is white, and it makes niggers all conceited up when you think maybe they is white.". The city is also home to the Willy 98.7 FM and 1550 AM radio stations, which are owned and managed by Bryan Broadcasting in Bryan, Texas. They didn't care what color you was, black, white, yellow or blue. De women folks was proud of dere men folks, but dey was powerful grieved. Hurrah, boys, hurrah! ", "I tell dese chillun here dey ain't know nuffin'. Dey sho' dead.' ", "Dat was a big plantation. It swelled up my head and stuff came out. Den I know he almos' home and I holler and wave my han' and he holler and wave he han' right back. Dey give us plenty of co'nbread. Mid 1860s skirmish between Navasotan disgruntled freedmen and Confederate veterans broke out in the Brazos Bottoms near Millican, after a race riot there threw the whole region into a panic. "No one knowed when de Klux comin'. Washington on the Brazos Historical Foundation is hosting a Texas Independence Day Celebration Saturday, Feb. 29, from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m., 2400 Park It was jis' a one-room log house. "The masters couldn't whip the slaves there. Horlock Art Gallery History Museum is one of the best things to do in Navasota Texas. Fust dey is all blowed full of air and tied tight and dry. "After he was whipped my daddy run away to the north. I go to see her and took a peach pie, 'cause I lub her and I know dat's what she like better'n anything. The market place was in Snow Hill on the public square near the jailhouse. I can't holp it 'cause rations am short and I'll do all I can for you. Reported in the Navasota Examiner and Bryan Eagle paper. He tell de overseer, 'If you can't make dem niggers work without de whup, den you not de man I wants.' He allus brung me somethin', jus' like I he own little gal. Hamer moved in and imposed law and order, prosecuting Navasota criminals until the town became safe again. "To de bes' of dis nigger's mem'randum, de feed am good. Dere some old men dat too old to work so dey sot in de sun all day and holp with de light work.
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