Saint John Colony
Lockhart, Caldwell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
This community began in the early 1870s when a group of freedmen and their families, led by the Rev. John Henry Winn, relocated here from Webberville (approx. 20 mi. N). The original fourteen families purchased about 2,000 acres of land to establish a town and family farms. Originally named Winn's Colony in honor of John H. Winn, the community name was changed to Saint John Colony after Winn organized Saint John Missionary Baptist Church in 1873. The community grew steadily and at its peak included homes of about 100 families, farms, stores, a school, cotton gin, and grist mill. A post office, under the name Mackiesville, opened in 1890 with Lewis Mackey as postmaster. Churches, in addition to Saint John Missionary Baptist, included Zion Union Missionary Baptist and Landmark Missionary Baptist. The boundaries of the colony extended into Bastrop County.The post office was closed in the 1920s, and the school was consolidated with Lockhart schools in 1966. The churches remain active, and the community graveyard, known as Saint John Cemetery or Zion Cemetery, contains the graves of many of the area's pioneers. Descendants of some of the founding families still reside in Saint John Colony. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In the early 1870s the Rev. John Henry Winn led a group of freedmen and their families from Webberville to a new home south of Lockhart, where fourteen founding families pooled their money to buy some 2,000 acres for a town and farms. First called Winn's Colony, it was renamed Saint John Colony after Winn organized Saint John Missionary Baptist Church in 1873, and grew to roughly a hundred families with stores, a school, a cotton gin, and a grist mill. The post office and school eventually closed, but the churches remain active and descendants of the founders still live there.
Why it matters
Saint John Colony is a rare surviving freedmen's settlement—land bought and governed by formerly enslaved Americans who built a self-sufficient community that endures into the present.
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Related people
- · Rev. John Henry Winn
- · Lewis Mackey
Themes & tags
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