Former Slave Turned Custodian Now Honored in Denton County Courthouse on the Square - Denton, TX - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Written by Justin Grass (Staff Writer, jgrass(at)dentonrc(dot)com), the article reads:

"Denton County officials unveiled a Courthouse on the Square plaque Tuesday morning honoring Zach Rawlins, an African American man who worked as a county custodian from 1886 to 1911 following his emancipation from slavery.

The plaque was set in motion over four years ago, after local activist Willie Hudspeth pushed for the county to honor Rawlins. At the time, Hudspeth was many years into advocating for the removal of the county's prominent Confederate soldier monument, and as part of that campaign, he was pushing for the recognition of minorities through monuments as well.

Hudspeth was in attendance at Tuesday morning’s Commissioners Court meeting, which included the plaque's unveiling after Peggy Riddle, director of the county’s Office of History and Culture, gave a brief biography of Rawlins' life.

Born in Mississippi in 1846, Rawlins came to the Lewisville area as a slave in 1860. After being freed, he would go on to purchase an 80-acre farm, help establish a school and cemetery for African Americans and, in 1886, become a custodian for the Denton County courthouse. His time in that position spanned two courthouse buildings and lasted until he died in 1911.

'Zach was known as 'Uncle Zach' to everyone in Denton,' Riddle said. 'He was a very generous person and very kind, is what we've read from newspaper accounts. ... His death affected a lot of people, and he was a man who was well respected all throughout the county.'

The introduction of the plaque comes in the midst of the Confederate monument's relocation. The monument was removed from the Courthouse on the Square lawn last June after years of protests, and in April, the county announced plans to relocate it to a permanent exhibit indoors in its museum. That exhibit will include the statue of the soldier and two engraved tablets from the original monument.

In the months since that plan was announced, Hudspeth has spoken at the majority of the county's meetings, expressing his disapproval over the relocation and criticizing the process officials used. Tuesday, however, he said he appreciated commissioners' recognition of Rawlins, whom he admires for his hard work and good attitude.

'When I first brought [him] up to you, you acted surprised like you didn't know about that — come to find out, you didn't know,' Hudspeth said. 'I want to give honor where honor's due. You did that, and I wasn't up here just harping on it all the time. I told you what I thought for a little bit, and then I left it alone. You took it upon yourselves to do the rest of it, and my hat's off to you for that.'

Hudspeth added, although jokingly, that he likely will return to his criticisms by next week's meeting.

'I'm going to get my kids to get this tape of us being kind to one another, because it will be historic,' Hudspeth said with a laugh. 'Next Tuesday will be a different tape.'

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 06/22/2021 Publication: Denton Record-Chronicle Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Society/People

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