Freedmen's Town Bike Tour

The Freedmen’s Town Bike Tour is a tour designed to tell the often-unknown story of the 1st African American community in Houston immediately after Africans were notified that they were FREE two years after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation.

In 1865, after learning that they had been freed by Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the Emancipation Proclamation slaves serving in and around Galveston Island as well as the plantations along the Brazos River began to make their way to Houston. Upon arrival, the only place that they were allowed to live was alongside Buffalo Bayou, because city leadership at the time believed that the land was unlivable based on the fact that it stayed muddy and flooded all the time. Approximately 1000 freedmen settled in the area which we continue to affectionately refer to as Freedmen's Town as they did when they occupied it. By 1906, Freedmen's Town housed one-third of Houston's population and was becoming very prosperous, featuring live jazz clubs, restaurants, and theatres.

On this approximately five-mile slow-paced tour, riders will ride along the original boundary of Freedmen’s Town, visit historic churches & homes, the historic brick streets as well as other key sites within the community.

We will begin gathering for the tour at 9am at the parking garage at 1314 Andrews and the tour will begin at 10am.

After the tour, please stop by the Freedmen's Town Farmers Market

Host or Publisher Pervis Hall