What were the boundaries of the "Freedman's Towns" founded in and near Austin after the Civil War? Former African-American slaves freed during the Civil War lived all over Austin, but settled primarily in the following communities:
Clarksville, first settled by Charles Clark, went from West Lynn to the MissouriPacific railroad tracks and from 10th Street to Waterston Avenue. Wheatville [not Wheatsville] was named for James Wheat and was bounded by Rio Grande Street and Shoal Creek on the east and west and by 24th and 26th Streets on the south and north. Masontown was begun by Sam and Raiford Mason and covered the approximate area between 3rd and 6th Streets and Chicon and Waller Streets. Kincheonville, named for Thomas Kinchion [sic], was a small farming community in what is now southwest Austin, within an area roughly described by Paisano Trail, Longview Road, Davis Lane, and Brodie Lane.
After the Civil War was over, all was still not well. Everything that had been destroyed by the war had to be rebuilt, including the government in the South. Laws were passed to give equal rights to blacks, but blacks continued to be treated differently. Read more about Reconstruction, the time after the Civil War, when the country began to recover from the fighting. When the war was ended, there was much to be done. The South had to rebuild houses, buildings, farms, and stores, while little of the North had been destroyed. The former slave owners now had to let blacks vote, run for office, and learn. The new country was beginning to reconstruct itself, but it was not easy. To get more information on the fight to change the South and rebuild the country.
After the Civil War, it took over 100 years for blacks to have the same equal rights as whites. Three amendments to the U.S. Constitution helped blacks have the same opportunities as whites and have the same right to vote.