Freeman Farm
Frankston, Anderson County, Texas
Marker Inscription
William Franklin Freeman (1827 - 1892) and Elizabeth Ann Davis (1829 - 1856) were married in Alabama in 1846. After the birth of their first child in 1849 they came to Texas and settled two miles south of Kickapoo in Anderson County. They purchased land for a farm and in the 1850s built a homestead using hand-hewn lumber and bricks made at the site. The Freemans were successful farmers and owned more than 3,000 acres of land. The plantation was self-sustaining and was operated by the Freemans and the slaves they acquired. Tasks were completed in additional buildings located here including a blacksmith shop, an icehouse, cotton gin, syrup mill, smokehouse, and chicken house. They produced their own clothing and shoes using a spinning wheel, shoe forms and a cobbler's bench. Much of the furniture was produced locally including wardrobes, tables, chairs, pie safes and desks. The plantation served the Kickapoo area as a local post office. W. F. Freeman functioned as county commissioner in 1876, and as president of Kickapoo College in the 1880s. After his death, his second wife Bethena Oldham (1841 - 1904) managed the farm for many years. Their family continues to be active in civic affairs. (1993)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
William Franklin Freeman and his first wife came to Texas from Alabama around 1849 and settled south of Kickapoo in Anderson County, where in the 1850s they raised a homestead of hand-hewn lumber and site-made brick. Their self-sustaining plantation eventually spanned more than 3,000 acres, worked by the family and the enslaved people they held, and included a blacksmith shop, cotton gin, syrup mill, and smokehouse. Freeman served as county commissioner and headed nearby Kickapoo College, and the farm even housed the local post office.
Why it matters
The Freeman place is a window into the antebellum cotton plantation economy of East Texas — an economy, the marker plainly notes, built on enslaved labor.
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Related people
- · William Franklin Freeman
- · Bethena Oldham Freeman
Themes & tags
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