Rev. Ned (Edward) P. Pullum and Emma Eddings Pullum Home – 1319 Andrews Street

Reverend Ned (Edward) P. Pullum, born into slavery, was a native of Alabama. He, his wife, Emma Eddings Pullum and children moved to Beaumont, Texas in 1895 to become pastor of Antioch Baptist Church.  A year later he accepted the pastorate of New Hope Baptist Church in Houston’s Sixth Ward. Though fairly new to Houston, in 1897, Pullum was later chosen to succeed the late Rev. John Henry “Jack” Yates as pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in Freedmen’s Town. He resigned in January, 1903 and soon organized Friendship Baptist Church, also located in Freedmen’s Town, where he remained until his death. With so many congregations in Freedmen’s Town, Rev. Pullum recognized a need for economic diversity. He purchased several real estate properties, founded a shoe repair business, two pharmacies and was the only known Black, Houston businessman to own a brickyard. He also figured prominently in civic and educational causes in the Black community. Reverend Pullum died on June 18, 1927, and was buried in College Park Cemetery on West Dallas Avenue. Rev. Pullum’s home, a National Register property, is among the grandest surviving historic residences in Freedmen’s Town. Its classic architecture reflects elegance, grace and an attainment of status for a Southern Baptist minister.

Since its acquisition by the R.B.H. Yates Museum in 2007, the home has received a City of Houston Protected Landmark and Official Texas State Historical marker. The Pullum home is also one of a handful of Houston structures recognized in 2019 as a UNESCO “Site of Memory” International Slave Route Project. The R.B. H. Yates Museum is working to raise funds to fully preserve it as a health and business home museum.