The Frenchtown Community
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A distinct ethnic cultural group, “Creoles of Color,” developed in Louisiana in the 18th and 19th centuries. With roots in French, Spanish, African and Native American cultures, they spoke standard or Creole French and practiced Catholicism. Free persons before the Civil War, they lost their special status with the onset of Jim Crow laws, and many turned to sharecropping to survive but suffered further with declining agricultural prices and drought. Escaping the devastating 1927 Mississippi River flood, many fled west via highways and rail lines. In Houston, they took jobs in industries related to oil, construction and railroads. They established a tight-knit, culturally unique community called Frenchtown, today bounded by Collingsworth Street, Russell Street, Liberty Road, Quitman Street and Jensen Drive. In 1929, residents built Our Mother of Mercy Catholic Church, which later established a parochial school. Families maintained their cultural identity by marrying within the community and closely supporting their neighbors. They held la-las, social gatherings centered on food and music, to raise funds for building new homes. Zydeco music, a blending of Creole la-la and the blues, also played a vital role in distinguishing this community. Frenchtown began to lose its identity as a Creole enclave after World War II as segregation ended, U.S. Highway 59 expanded and more non-creole families moved here. Later, the popularity of Zydeco music and a renewed interest in Creole culture brought attention to this unique community and led to various preservation efforts. The Frenchtown community association has aided in the reclaiming of this vibrant, distinctive area of Houston. (2007)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
The "Creoles of Color" — a distinct people of French, Spanish, African, and Native American heritage — emerged in Louisiana before losing their free status under Jim Crow. Fleeing the devastating 1927 Mississippi River flood, many migrated west to Houston for work in oil, construction, and railroads, building the tight-knit enclave of Frenchtown. There they sustained their Catholic faith, French language, la-la gatherings, and the zydeco music that became their signature.
Why it matters
Frenchtown preserves the story of Creole migration and cultural survival, one thread in the great Black movement out of the rural South into American cities.
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Related events
- · Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Zydeco Music in Frenchtown
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In the 1920s, Louisiana Creole families — "Creoles of Color" — migrated to Houston and built the Frenchtown neighborhood, carrying their language, culture, and music with them. Their traditional accordion-and-washboard La-la music, played at community fundraising gatherings, blended with jazz and blues by the 1940s into the distinctive sound of Zydeco, showcased in clubs like Johnson's (later the Continental Lounge and Zydeco Ballroom). Clifton Chenier, the "King of Zydeco," modernized the style here by adding electric guitar, bass, drums, and horns.
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