African American | Red River Historian

Forgotten Hickory at Hickory Creek in Denton County

Robin Cole-Jett

Dec 9

Forgotten Hickory at Hickory Creek in Denton County

Hickory Creek in Denton County, Texas may be named for Hickory, a much older settlement that history has forgotten.

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Impending Construction at Crutchfield Cemetery in Denton County

Robin Cole-Jett

Jul 17

Impending Construction at Crutchfield Cemetery in Denton County

Crutchfield Cemetery is an African American burial ground that is all but forgotten among a a construction boom in eastern Denton County.

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Worries about Preserving the Past in Melissa, Collin County, Texas

Robin Cole-Jett

Jul 15

Worries about Preserving the Past in Melissa, Collin County, Texas

The Scott-Barker House and St. Paul Baptist Church contribute to worries about preserving the past of fast-growing Melissa in Collin County.

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Marion Post, Photographer of Cane River Creoles

Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 28, 2023

Marion Post, Photographer of Cane River Creoles

Marion Post (later, Marion Post Wolcott) was the first photographer to document the Cane River Creole culture of Louisiana.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 23, 2023

Polly Ann Colbert, Chickasaw Free Woman

The life of Polly Ann Colbert, a Chickasaw Free Woman, is a history lesson of Indian Territory.

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What was once Hell's Half Acre in Fort Worth

Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 22, 2023

What was once Hell's Half Acre in Fort Worth

The courthouse once left an imposing impression on those plying their trades in old Hell's Half Acre, Fort Worth's red light district.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 22, 2023

St. Paul Bottom in Shreveport

Established by freed African Americans in 1865, St. Paul Bottom bordered Twelve Mile Bayou in the northwest section of downtown Shreveport.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 20, 2023

A Not-Always Fair Park in Dallas

Most of the buildings that lie inside Fair Park in Dallas today are landmarks built purposefully for the 1936 Centennial Exposition.

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Sand Branch, or Simonds Precinct Cemetery, in Dallas County

Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 19, 2023

Sand Branch, or Simonds Precinct Cemetery, in Dallas County

The Simonds Precinct cemetery is known called to its families as "Sand Branch."

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 18, 2023

Jerry Chinner, Brick-er

Much of the brick used in building Bonham (Fannin County, Texas) was fired in the kilns owned by Jerry Chinner, a Freeman.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 17, 2023

Fort Sill, Still Active

Fort Sill represents the Old West and flourishes as the last remaining, active military post that was built during the Indian wars.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 13, 2023

The Colfax Massacre

The Colfax Massacre along the Red River was the most violent episode in Reconstruction Louisiana.

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Racialist Deflection: Violence in the Red River Valley

Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 13, 2023

Racialist Deflection: Violence in the Red River Valley

The Red River Valley witnessed racialist violence, based on whites deflecting, throughout the first half of the 20th century.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 8, 2023

The Paris Lynching of Henry Smith

The public lynching of Henry Smith in Paris, Texas in 1893 was detailed in a commemorative book by his murderers.

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Some Freedmen's Bureau Records from the Red River Valley

Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 6, 2023

Some Freedmen's Bureau Records from the Red River Valley

Records by the Freedmen's Bureau from the Red River Valley describe horrors.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Sep 5, 2023

Shreveport in the Green Book

Shreveport was prominently featured in Green Books

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Union Strategy in Indian Territory, Annotated

Robin Cole-Jett

Aug 15, 2023

Union Strategy in Indian Territory, Annotated

Annotated editorial from the Chicago Tribune to provide some context about slavery in the Choctaw Nation.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Jun 18, 2023

Coleman College at Gibsland, Louisiana

In 1887, O.L. Coleman opened a school for African American children in Gibsland, Louisiana.

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Long Lost Lafayette (and Prairie), Arkansas

Robin Cole-Jett

Feb 19, 2023

Long Lost Lafayette (and Prairie), Arkansas

Lafayette and Lost Prairie in Arkansas were built by slave labor and washed away by the Red River.

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Robin Cole-Jett

Jan 31, 2023

Garland in Bowie County, Texas

East of DeKalb, Bowie County, Texas and a few miles south of the Red River is the tiny community of Garland.

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