Joshua Houston - Huntsville, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 30° 43.506 W 095° 33.356
15R E 255259 N 3401927
The homestead of Joshua Houston no longer exists, but this marker remains in his honor.
Waymark Code: WMYAF2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2018
Views: 0
Joshua Houston
1822 - 1902
Joshua Houston, trusted former servant to General Sam Houston and his wife, Margaret, was one of the first freedman to purchase real estate from M.C. Rogers in the surrounding area that came to be known as "Rogersville". The homestead at Avenue O and 10th Street was purchased for $120 on January 15, 1866. Joshua built a large two-story house and a wood shop on the site. His son, the outstanding education, Samuel W. Houston, was born and reared in this house and later lived in it for a period after his father's death. Joshua Houston's blacksmith shop was located diagonally across the street, on the southeast corner. "Josh", as he was often called, also purchased a 54-acre farm that lay behind his Homestead. Joshua served as a City Alderman from 1867 until the early 1870s, although perhaps not consecutively. He was elected County Commissioner for the 1878-1880 and 1882-1884 terms and is credited with being a school trustee. Deed records name him as a trustee of the First Freedman's Church in Huntsville, the Interdenominational Union Church, in 1866 and of the St. James Methodist Church in 1869. A few years later he was an early Deacon of the First Baptist Church located west of this site. He was also a supporter of Bishop Ward College, founded in 1883 and located near the corner of Pleasant Street and Old Mason Mill Road.
Placed by the Citizens of Huntsville in Recognition of the Sam Houston Bicentennial