Allen Chapel Community
Houston County, Houston County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Emancipated slaves of pioneer landowners in nearby communities established homes and farms here in the 1870s. Life centered around the church and school near this site. Land for the African Methodist Episcopal Church was purchased from Nat Allen, one of the original church trustees, for whom the community was named. The one-room schoolhouse was moved to Kennard (3 mi. W) in 1968, but was returned to the Allen Chapel Community in 1985. Descendants of many of the original settlers still live here.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the 1870s, emancipated people who had been enslaved on nearby plantations built homes and farms here, founding a community that would take its name from church trustee Nat Allen. Life revolved around the African Methodist Episcopal church and a one-room schoolhouse near this site. That schoolhouse was moved to Kennard in 1968 and brought back in 1985, and descendants of the original settlers live here still.
Why it matters
Freedom colonies like Allen Chapel show how formerly enslaved Texans built self-sustaining communities around church and school in the uncertain years after emancipation.
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Related people
- · Nat Allen
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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