The Background

The slave quarters building at the NCHM is the only intact and publicly accessible slave dwelling located within in the boundaries of Austin's original townsite. As stewards of the slave quarters building, the NCHM has a responsibility to preserve and share the building's history.

Why does THIS place matter? Through the slave quarters building, all who live in and visit Austin have the opportunity to walk in the steps of the people, enslaved and free, who built this city. No matter our backgrounds, we can observe and experience the past through their eyes in an immersive and tangible way impossible to replicate anywhere else in the city.

Here, we have the opportunity to share a more truthful and complete story of the slave quarters building by identifying people who lived there and engaged with our site, and by telling their stories. These people included Lam (an enslaved boy who the trustees of the Texas Blind Asylum leased from his enslaver to teach the white boarding students how to weave baskets in the 1850s), Jacob Fontaine (the founder of one of the first Black newspapers west of the Mississippi, who lived a block away), Rufus Howard (a man who worked as a gardener both for the Cochrans and for the University of Texas in the early 20th century), and Maggie (a member of a family of laundresses who worked for the Cochran family and whose handmade soap was prized by the Cochran girls).

Lam, Jacob Fontaine, Rufus Howard, Maggie, and many others who lived and labored at this site or nearby, played incredibly important roles in the life of our city, roles that have been ignored as Austin has patterned itself as a progressive — yet overwhelmingly segregated — metropolis. Reckoning with the Past: The Untold Story of Race in Austin honors the contributions of every man, woman, and child connected to our site and brings their lives forward as evidence of Austin's difficult as well as inspiring history.

Purchase the Book!

To learn more about the slave quarters, the experience of life at this site, and the broader narrative of the way race has played a role in Austin history, you can purchase a copy of our book, Reckoning with the Past: Slavery, Segregation, and Gentrification in Austin from our online gift shop. The media coverage of A Weekend for Community and for the project more broadly is on the Press & Media page of our website.

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