The museum itself is housed in a historic building. I's settin' hear a thinkin' of dem ole days when I's a li'l nigger a cuttin' up on ole marster's plantation. This crime was in the middle of the day on the main street in town. Mister, them was shirts that was shirts! He had to stay in the woods and travel at night and eat what he could find, berries and roots and things. One day I's makin' a bonfire in de yard and ketch my dress on fire. Cotton was twenty and thirty cents a pound then. My husban' gib me de trabblin' dress, but I never use dat dress for three weeks, though, 'cause ole mistus cry so when I hafter leave dat I stay for three weeks after I marry. Dat half a day off on Sadday was for de slaves to wash and clean up deyselfs. Massa say not mix with dat crowd what lose de head, jus' stay to home and work. She was sick and she say, 'Mandy, dis de las' time us gwineter see each other, 'cause I ain' gwineter git well. The Yankees beat and settled down there and the cullud folks flocked down on them and when they got to the Yankee lines they was safe. ", "Yas, I 'member de house I was raise in. One day I seen my old daddy get whipped by the county and state 'cause he wouldn't work. Hallelujah! Whoever git de girl's pie eat it with her. When he git here dey tek care of him 'till he die right dere at Olive. Dey done took all de rations and us couldn't eat de cotton. 1850 Slave Schedules Grimes County (Source: Explore Ancestry for free) ($) 1860 Slave Schedules (Source: But us don't leave Massa John, us go right on workin' for him like 'fore. Dat how come I 'member ol' mistus name so good. So we'uns asked him if we could stay and he says, 'Yous kin stay as long as yous want to and I can keep yous.' Later local business owners used the meat to feed the poor of the city. I doesn't work till near de surrender, 'cause I's too small. We thought we was goin' to get rich like the white folks. And 'bout in a year, Marster Zeke fotches me to my mamma, in Johnson Station, south of Arlington. Course, I don't blame him for dat, 'cause dere ain't anythin' lazier dan a lazy nigger. Navasota is located in southwestern Grimes County, Texas, east of the Navasota River (a tributary of the Brazos River). She lives in Woodville, Texas, with her husband, Josh, to whom she has been married 13 years. She tell me funny things 'bout how dey use to do up dere. "I only 'members after de war, and most de cullud folks stays with Massa Buford after surrender and works de land on shares. The old Negro was growing very tired, but, at a request, he instantly got up and tapped his way out into the scorching sunshine to have his photograph taken. They spent that night singin' and shoutin'. Ol' marster gin' and bale' he own cotton. NOVEMBER 8, 2011 Large numbers of Federal Law Enforcement ATF Agents move in on Armed drug dealing gangs. Old Mew Johnson, the preacher, seen to it church went on. In 2012, the Navasota city council voted to commission a local sculptor to erect a statue of Frank Hamer in front of the new city hall building. The Horlock Art Gallery and History museum has history exhibits relating to the citys past. Church went on. De white folks didn' talk 'bout it 'fore us. WebTexas Lynching Victims Memorial Share Special Exhibits The Freedom-Lovers Roll Call Wall Stories Behind the Postcards: Paintings and Collages of Jennifer Scott Portraiture of Resistance Memorial to the Victims of Lynching Freedom-Lovers Pledge Explore Our Galleries African Peoples Before Captivity Kidnapped: The Middle Passage Nearly Three "Me and Bob Thomas and dis husban', Josh, what I marry thirteen year ago, hab 'bout 10 chillen all togedder. We'uns cullud folks jined in and was singin' out in de back, 'Massa's in de Col', Har' Groun'. They brought up their children to speak only Mexican. When it's over, de Marster comes home and dey holds a big celebration. Then he laughed: "No, you ain't. "I come to Texas in 1877 and Galveston was a little pen then, a little mess. How I did play roun' with de chilluns till I's big enough for to wo'k. Massa Buford say, 'Yes,' and de trader say he'll be back in 'bout three weeks, soon as he sells all the slaves. 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. Den us go to Houston and Louisiana for a spell and I hires out to cook. Missy says, 'Don' say 'lasses, say molasses.' No mam. "Yes, suh, everybody happy on massa's place till war begin. Sometimes you didn't knowed it was goin' on. There wasn't no reason to run up North. By 1865 the population was about 2,700. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weatherreports, maps & tropical weather conditions for the Navasota area. Dat's de reason I's a co'nbread eater now. [7], Navasota was considered such a "wild and woolly" place that women and children were discouraged from going downtown even in broad daylight. If dey sick, dey didn't habe to work and he give dem de med'cine hisself. My mem'randum not so good like 'twas. Dey was a overseer on de place and iffen dey was any whippin' to be did, he done it. ", "When Crismus come 'roun' dey give us big eatin'. De sojers done took de rations. "White man, dis old cullud woman am not strong. 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. De fus' preachin' I heerd was atter dat. The trader did not return, so the Buford family raised the child with their slaves. Sometime dey brung lil' white chillen to dinner. "Me and my mother lef' right off and go to Palestine. I knowed you was white man when you comes up the path and speaks. ", "I tell dese chillun here dey ain't know nuffin'. She weave all de time for ol' marster. I hab purty long, black hair and a veil with a ribbon 'round de fron'. Dere was jis' one room and one family to de cabin. 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. Den she hav nice Sunday dinner for both us. [20] In addition, the Pack Warehouse is located in an unincorporated area near the Pack Unit. I never see her no mo'. After learning about her experience, Willing We listen and de overseer whisper under de door and told my mother dat she free but not to tell nobody. Webslavery in navasota, texas. "Us have de cabin what am made from logs but us only sleeps dere. Washington County. Dey hab big hog killin' time, and dey dry and salt de meat in a big long trough. When she come in and say, 'Mandy, shine up de knife and fork and put de polish on de pianny, I allus happy, 'cause I lub to see folks come. I got my ticket, De preacher, he was big, jolly man, he come to de house 'bout one Sunday in every month. Sometime dey mek 'em in co'n sacks and sometime dey put 'em in a tick what dey weave on de loom. "Dey use to have de little whip dey use on de women. Most everybody else go with us. Shoutin' the battle cry of freedom.'. Dibble, Fred, P.W., Beehler, Rheba, P.W., ", "I was bo'n up here in Jasper. Hallelujah broke out, "'Abe Lincoln freed the nigger He open de blacksmith shop and buy some slaves. An 1860 census reported 182,566 slaves, making up 30 percent of the states population, according to the Texas Dey give each li'l nigger a big iron spoon and us sho' go to it. Then he chuckled to himself and said: "'Warmth of the wind Washington County is in the Blackland Prairies region of southeast central Texas. WILLIAM HAMILTON belonged to a slave trader, who left him on the Buford plantation, near Village Creek, Texas. Plenty of everything and corn am de mostest us have. In 1990, the boys basketball team won the 3A state championship with a 350 record after beating Gainesville and Lamesa at the state tournament played at the University of Texas Frank Erwin Center. My baby gal she ain't never see no daddy. "If you's lookin' for Ann Hawthorne, dis is me. I allus did obey jis' like I was teached to do and dey didn' hafter whip me. They wasn't slaves no more. But, first, let me ask you this: Is you all a white man, or is you a black man?". The French explorer Ren-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who was misguided in his 1687 attempt to locate the Mississippi River and trying to find his way back to French-held lands near the Great Lakes, came through the area that would become Navasota, where he was murdered by one of his men. Den de chillen holds de bladder in de fire and purty soon, 'BANG,' dey goes. Don't you be a-mindin' him, mister.". I uster sneak sugar out de barrel to feed Julie. The master had to give 'em a half or third of what he made. I thanks yous for all de way yous done while I's gone, and I'll holp you all I can.' 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. ", "Dey raise dey own t'bacco on de place. I don' 'member dat dey give us no presents. Pauline married Navasota Grice in 1875 and they moved to Texas in 1917. Navasota suffered a series of disasters in the mid-1860s that severely depleted its population. Fust de 'federate sojers come and takes some mules and hosses, den some more come for de corn. Sometimes the slave made friends with the dogs and they wouldn't let on if they found him. http://www.navasotaexaminer.com/news/article_93b2ddca-bf19-11e1-af8d-0019bb2963f4.html, Read more about this topic: Navasota, Texas, Culture, the acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit.Matthew Arnold (18221888), The history of modern art is also the history of the progressive loss of arts audience. He allus brung me somethin', jus' like I he own little gal. I was raise up in de fiel' all my life. They are unmarked as far as she knows. Web1 language. [19], The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) operates the O.L. ", "We done our playin' 'roun' dat big house, but dat front gate, we dassen' go outside dat. I didn' use snuff nor chew 'till after I growed up and marry. One day I fotches a letter and I could feel it in my bones, dere was trouble in dat letter. As many Navasota citizens, including the mayor, fled to escape the disease, the town population dropped by about 50 percent. Nothin' was different. In 2012, the City of Navasota commissioned local sculptor Russell Cushman to design and create a statue of Frank Hamer, which is now on display in front of the city hall building. We got our lickings, but just the same we got our fill of biscuits every time the white folks had 'em. He call me his Annie 'cause I name' after my mistus. "It 'bout two year after freedom mammy gits marry and us goes and works on shares. He mus' still be sellin' 'em, 'cause he never comes back so far and there I am and my folks am took on, and I is too li'l to 'member 'em, so I never knows my pappy and mammy. Live plays are performed regularly at the Sunny Furman Theatre. She say he ain't no service to her. Dere some old men dat too old to work so dey sot in de sun all day and holp with de light work. [4] The industrial sector of the community boasts 23 companies and over 1,200 jobs. Males had a median income of $28,585 versus $21,731 for females. Mistus was so lil' she couldn' lif' me but she fin'ly git me to bed. PIERCE HARPER, 86, was born on the Subbs plantation near Snow Hill, North Carolina. It was the endin' of it that made the difference. Texas State Highway 105 is the main eastwest route that passes through the center of Navasota, leading southwest 25 miles (40km) to Brenham and east 41 miles (66km) to Conroe. "Right over on Massa Ditto's place, am a killin' of a baby by dem Klux. In February 2004, the Texas Rangers again probed the Navasota Police Department. They had a vermifuge weed. He wouldn' sell him to Marse Norsworthy when he come to Texas. [Handwritten Note: '?'] ", "Dat was a big plantation. WebSlavery grew faster after Texas became a U.S. state in 1845. And I ain't goin' to get whipped any more. I'm thinkin' lots of 'em pretended to want to go as soon as they had to go. I went and he told me goodbye, 'cause he was goin' to run away in a few days. Ole mistus giv me my bedstead, one of her purtiest ones, and de set dishes and glasses us eat de weddin' dinner outta. Generally, the census only names the slave owner. Its application scored 17 of 20 points. The law said in black and white no master couldn't whip no slave, no matter what he done. ", "My pa was Len Norsworthy. The assassination attempt failed, however, and Scott was scurried out of town, badly wounded, under protection of a Federal militia, and he never returned to Grimes County. 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. Us have most nothin' to eat and den de Ku Klux come 'round dere. Some of 'em didn't want to go. When de body comes home, dere's a powerful big funeral and after dat, dere's powerful weepin's and sadness on dat place. After I was sold, they let me go visit my mother once a year, on Sunday morning, and took me back at night. Us place was right near Col' Springs. Sister Johnson say to me outside of services last Sunday night, 'Brother Harper, you is de beatines' man I ever seen. Some old folks went in the woods for herbs and made medicine. The slaves They played marbles, see-saw and rode. I'll never be a slave Day has dances and fun till de Ku Klux org'nizes and den it am lots of trouble. Three dogs followed one slave the whole way up north and he sold them up there. History of slavery: Newspaper ads used to find family after emancipation. ", "Dey was a gin and cotton press on de place. They wore long sheets and covered the hosses with sheets so you couldn't rec'nize 'em. He settled on the south side of the Navasota River near Bur Oak Springs and developed a cotton plantation and cattle ranch that extended at one time over about 5,000 acres. Den all de other niggers thinks dey should git land, too, but dey don't, and it make dem git foolishment and git in trouble. I went there after the war for a while and then I looked 'round and decided to get back. ", "My gramma and my ma and ol' man Norsworthy dey come from Alabama. Art has increasingly become the concern of the artist and the bafflement of the public.Henry Geldzahler (19351994), The only thing worse than a liar is a liar thats also a hypocrite!There are only two great currents in the history of mankind: the baseness which makes conservatives and the envy which makes revolutionaries.Edmond De Goncourt (18221896). ", "Dey feed us good back in slavery. Far as I cares, you is free now, and can stay here and tough it through or go where you wants. WebA typical Southern plantation, Liendo was self-sufficient, and was entirely built by skilled slave laborers including brick and stone masons, carpenters, and smiths" At the end of Dat was dey law in dem days. "To de bes' of dis nigger's mem'randum, de feed am good. The population was 6,789 at the 2000 census. The master reads us de paper right after dat and say us free. ANN HAWTHORNE, Beaumont, Tex., was clad in a white dress which was protected by a faded blue checked apron. [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]. All was white in jail but one, and he was cullud. ", "Dey had a big smokehouse. The median age was 32.9 years. Another attraction is the historic Brule Field, a natural amphitheater built in the 1930s out of native stone. My father come nex' day and jine us. But de slaves some of 'em uster had family prayer meetings to deyselfs. "The masters couldn't whip the slaves there. Dey was a ol' Geo'gia hoss bed in it. Men you thought was your friend was Klu Kluxes and you'd deal with 'em in stores in the daytime and at night they'd come out to your house and kill you. Jump fru' de crack. Dey give us milk in a sep'rate vessel, and dey give eb'ryone a slice of meat in our greens. He calls his son, Zeke, in and tells him dat I should be fotched to my mamma. He told me once he lived in New York and, "I's borned in Grimes County, ninety years ago. If someone gets caught by his shirt on a limb of a tree, he had to die there if he weren't cut down. I stays with dem till 1875 and den marries Navasota Robert Grice and us live by farmin' till he die, nine year since. Everybody in dat part de country knowed him. She make linseed poultice and kep' de bu'n grease good. II State Football Champions in 2012 and 4A Div. He was a good man. I heerd my gramma and ma say dey ol' marster wouldn' sell none of his slaves. Now, Will, dat de man I's marry to, am younger'n me but he don't know it. Drug dealers, prostitutes and drunks could not be seen standing around this area anymore. This involves an absolute equality of rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection therefore existing between them becomes that between employer and free There am embers in de fireplace and she fills a pail with dem and when de Klux busts in de door she lets dem have de embers in de face, and den out de back door she goes. The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. Dey had a big smokehouse on de farm where dey kep' all kin's of good things like sugar and sich. De mattress was mek outer straw. De marster and his boy, Marster Ben, jined de army. Ole mistus he'p me make my weddin' dress outta white lawn. We all felt like heroes and nobody had made us that way but ourselves. Willy 98.7 is a classic country station with local programming that includes the Navasota News and live broadcasts of Navasota Rattlers football games. ", "I never see no slaves bought and sol'. She have to 'pend on de overseer and it warn't like massa keep things runnin'. ", "De ol' marster he didn' work he han's on Sunday and he give 'em half de day off on Sadday, too. My ma was name Ca'line after ol' mistus. Purty soon I see de big ox comin' and see de smoke from de road dust flyin'. On her feet she wore men's bedroom slippers much too large for her, and to prevent their falling off, were tied around the ankle by rag strings. Pierce attended a Negro school after he was grown, learned to read and write, and is interested in the betterment of his race. used the City Charter to revoke the alcohol license and the PD enforced the local laws of the land pushed by the new Police Chief, a Texas Ranger who took over after the past Police Chief and investigator where removed for corruption after an outside the county investigation of the City of Navasota Police department. "I gits my fust job with Carter Cannon, on a farm, and stays seven years.