Dixie Freedom Colony

The Texas Freedom Colonies Project lists Dixie as an established community dated to 1853, while noting that no public-record description of it exists. The project says the community's school was Beech Grove Colored Elementary School, later named G. W. Carver, and that descendants have opened a cultural center on the former Carver campus. It names Indian Creek Cemetery as the community burial ground. The project cites no sources for these claims, so treat the details as its listing rather than a verified record. Texas House Resolution 984 of 2013 honors the Dixie church but does not mention a colony.

What the plaque says

Dixie Freedom Colony Freedom colonies were independent communities built by formerly enslaved African Americans after Emancipation in 1865. Such settlements were desirable in the post-Civil War South, where African Americans were treated as lesser citizens. Located near the Bevilport community, the forerunner of the Dixie freedom colony began as a joint effort between plantation owner Joshua Seale and his slave, Richard "Uncle Dick" Seale, in 1853 when the two men built the Dixie Missionary Baptist Church. During the early years of Reconstruction, many of the former slaves remained in the area and centered their lives around church activities. Dixie Baptist Church has remained in continuous fellowship since that time, serving as an important focal point of community life for the citizens living in the colony. Richard Seale was influential within the community, establishing the Dixie School for the children of the colony. It served as one of the first successful attempts to educate the young people of the area, following a path similar to other marginalized communities at the time through donations of labor, building materials, crops and money to establish the schoolhouse. Nearby Indian Creek Cemetery is the final resting place for generations of the area's first settlers and their descendants. From its beginning, the community reflected values of mutual respect, education and faith. Using these virtues as a guide, the people of Dixie Freedom Colony accomplished their goals through perseverance and hard work. Today, their descendants continue the tradition of telling stories of the past and offering inspiration for the future. (2018)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — 7.2 mi
  A 705-acre state park on Steinhagen Reservoir at the meeting of the Neches and Angelina rivers, with about 14 miles of paddling trails through sloughs and more than 200 campsites.

More markers nearby

• Dixie Baptist Church — 0.6 mi
• Here Lived Dr. Stephen H. Everitt — 0.8 mi
• Site of the Town of Bevilport — 2.1 mi
• Bevilport — 3.0 mi