Juneteenth – Ashton Villa beginnings

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Juneteenth – The abolition of slavery was

announced to Texas from Ashton Villa

in Galveston on June 19th, 1865

Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is a holiday in the United States honoring African American heritage by commemorating the announcement of the abolition of slavery in the U.S. State of Texas in 1865. Celebrated on June 19, the term is a portmanteau of June and nineteenth, and is recognized as a state holiday in 37 states of the United States.

The state of Texas is widely considered the first U.S. state to begin Juneteenth celebrations with informal observances taking place for over a century, it has been an official state holiday since 1980. It is considered a “partial staffing holiday”, meaning that state offices do not close, but some employees will be using a floating holiday to take the day off. Its observance has spread to many other states, with a few celebrations even taking place in other countries.

ashton_villa_June_19_1865_juneteenth

Now a national monument, Ashton Villa, Galveston, Texas

Juneteenth and Ashton Villa

Though Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862, with an effective date of January 1, 1863, it had minimal immediate effect on most slaves’ day-to-day lives, particularly in the Confederate States of America. Texas, as a part of the Confederacy, was resistant to the Emancipation Proclamation, and though slavery was very prevalent in East Texas, it was not as common in the Western areas of Texas, particularly the Hill Country, where most German-Americans were opposed to the practice. Juneteenth commemorates June 18 and 19, 1865. June 18 is the day Union General Gordon Granger and 2,000 federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, to take possession of the state and enforce the emancipation of its slaves. On June 19, 1865, legend has it while standing on the balcony of Galveston’s Ashton Villa, Granger read the contents of “General Order No. 3”:

The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them becomes that between employer and hired labor. The freedmen are advised to remain quietly at their present homes and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

On January 7, 1859, Colonel James Moreau Brown, built the structure. Referencing architectural pattern books current at the time, he modified several plans to design his future home. Using slave labor and skilled European craftsmen, Brown proceeded to build one of the first brick structures in Texas.

The three-story house was built in Victorian Italianate style, with deep eaves, long windows and ornate verandas that were topped by lintels made of cast iron. The brick walls were made thirteen inches thick, to help protect against humidity and add strength to the structure. The interior of the home was laid out and designed around a central hall floor plan. Brown’s wife, Rebecca Ashton, named the home in honor of one of her ancestors, Lt. Isaac Ashton, a hero in the U.S. Revolutionary War.

Ashton Villa survived the catastrophic hurricane of 1900 due to it’s solid foundations. In 1927, under the threat of demolition, the Galveston Historical Foundation raised $125,000 to purchase Ashton Villa. With additional funding from local foundations and the government, the process of restoring and refurnishing home began. Much of the original furniture and art was able to be retrieved, and the decision was made to open the home as a House Museum. On July 25, 1974, the Galveston Historical Foundation opened the home to the public to serve as a House Museum, visitors center and a place for special functions including celebrating Juneteenth.

Receiving more than 18 inches of water during Hurricane Ike, the first floor is currently undergoing restoration.

Ashton Villa is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a recorded Texas Historic Landmark. Juneteenth has a home.
juneteenth_News_clippingOriginally published June 8, 2011.

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About Post Author

Holte Ender

Holte Ender will always try to see your point of view, but sometimes it is hard to stick his head that far up his @$$.
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Glenn Geist
3 years ago

Did y’all catch the bit at the end asking freedmen not to congregate at army bases, to remain at “home” and work for wages and above all to avoid “Idleness?”

Stereotypes die hard.

jess
3 years ago

I knew some of this but not all.

Reply to  jess
3 years ago

I’m sorry to say, I’d never heard of much of this.

Bill Formby
Reply to  Professor Mike
3 years ago

I learned about this a couple of years ago, sadly, from a student. I did some research to make sure he was not jerking me around. I had not heard of it before then. I have serious doubts that Trump knew or knows about or will recognize it.

jess
Reply to  Professor Mike
3 years ago

Like I had said other day. that episode of Watchmen took me on an epic google journey and some of this came up on it during the research of black Wall St Juneteenth etc etc. Now that it’s all famous due to el jefe getting it out there in the open though, we’ll all be hearing more about it like we hear about Frederick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln 😉

Barton
12 years ago

I knew none of this. I learned a lot from this post. Thanks.

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