HistoricSiteMarkers
Reconstruction & Gilded AgeProgressive & Modern Era

Westside Black Enclaves

San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

Marker Inscription

San Antonio’s black population can be traced back to the city’s earliest days. Presidial soldiers included many of African and American Indian ancestry. Later, Canary Islanders would bring their North African Berber culture with them. In 1876, out of a population of 17,214, some 2,075 citizens were recorded as “African.” Black communities settled in small enclaves throughout the city, including a sizable number west of the San Antonio River. By 1885, the city’s Second Ward, which included that portion west of the San Antonio River and north of Commerce Street, was largely populated by black citizens. Primarily residential, the area was anchored by significant community institutions. St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church began in 1868 in a soap factory along San Pedro Creek, and has played a prominent role in the spiritual, social and civic lives of the neighborhood’s residents. The early members were emancipated African Americans. The church moved to its present location on Richter Street in 1928. The exciting West End Baptist Church, founded in 1905, also served the growing black population. Ella Austin (1856-1902), a prominent community leader, first opened an orphans’ home near this site, at 926 West Houston Street, in 1890 before moving to a larger facility on the city’s eastside. Black children attended the Bishop Grant School on N. Leona. Krisch Hall, a German-owned business located at Houston and Flores, hosted black organizations such as the Lonestar Literary Society, the Glee Club and community gatherings. Over time, San Antonio’s westside transitioned to a Latino cultural center, African American families and institutions became concentrated on the eastside, and many historic residences were replaced by commercial buildings. Still, the near westside is home to many African Americans and remains an important example of the city’s layers of history and cultural diversity. (2016)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

San Antonio's Black history reaches back to its earliest days, from presidial soldiers of African ancestry to the North African Berber heritage of the Canary Islanders. By 1885 the city's Second Ward, west of the San Antonio River, was home to a substantial Black community anchored by institutions like St. James AME Church—begun in 1868 in a former soap factory—and the West End Baptist Church. Community leaders such as Ella Austin, who opened an orphans' home nearby in 1890, and gathering places for literary societies and glee clubs gave the neighborhood civic and cultural life before it later transformed into a Latino cultural center.

Why it matters

It recovers a nearly forgotten layer of San Antonio's history—the African American enclaves and institutions that thrived on the west side before the community's center shifted across town.

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Related people

  • · Ella Austin

Related events

  • · Founding of St. James AME Church

Themes & tags

African American HistoryWomen's HistoryLandmark

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