Freedmen’s Town Museums Houston
a part of Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum, Inc.
Archaeology, Education and Preservation
Tour Our Historic Properties
Discover the history in Freedmen’s Town Museums Houston, a part of Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum, Inc., by booking a tour of Freedmen’s Town Museums located in the 1912 historic home of Rutherford B.H. Yates. The Freedmen’s Town community was settled by emancipated persons of African descent who left plantations and other places of bondage after the Civil War.
Your tour will include a visit inside the 1912 historic home of Rutherford B.H. Yates,Sr. son of Rev. John Henry “Jack” Yates.
When you tour our National Register historic properties and UNESCO sites, you will get a personal glimpse into the lives of influential and everyday African-Americans who were Freedmen’s Town residents. Sadly, their stories of accomplishments are not recorded in local or national history books.
Our historic properties include the homes and archaeology sites of:
- J. Vance Lewis and Pauline Gray-Lewis [1907]
- Rev. Ned P. Pullum and Emma Eddings-Pullum [1898]
- Isabella Simms [1907]
- Jacob Nixon [1911]
- Workman’s Cottage/ Barbershop [1925]
- Rutherford B. H. Yates, Sr. [1912]
- Peter and Rosetta Stanton [1867]
Please Note:
- No Photography and/or Video is permitted in the RBH Yates Museum house.
- RBHY COVID protocols require tour participants to wear a mask.
- We can only accommodate 9-10 visitors at a time in the museum house due to the delicate condition of the floors.
- Tours are only scheduled Tuesday-Thursday from 9:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. and certain Saturdays.
- Tours can last an hour or two depending on your preference. A typical tour of the B.H. Yates Museum home is 1 hour.
- Outside tours of additional properties owned by the museum and the brick streets is another hour.
- A tour of the African American Library at the Gregory School located two blocks away from the R.B.H. Yates Museum house is an additional 30 minutes.
- The cost of a typical tour of the B.H. Yates Museum house and historical outside tours of other Yates museum houses and African American library is $15 for adults and $7 for children under 18 years of age.
- A special tour that includes the above museums and other Freedmen’s Town sites and churches will cost: $25 for adults and $7 for children under 18 years of age.
- Once a tour date has been assigned, admission should be paid within 72 hours, or the reservation will be canceled.
- Group bookings should be reserved two weeks prior to the desired tour date.
- There will be NO refund for tour cancellations on the day before or on the day of the tour.
Discover the legacy of African-American history with Debra Blacklock-Sloan, a sixth-generation Texan and native Houstonian.
As the historic research and docent director for the R.B.H. Yates Museum, she offers engaging tours of historic sites in Freedmen’s Town.
With a passion for and dedication to preserving African-American cultural heritage, Debra has acquired several local landmark designations and historical markers in Harris County and collaborated on impactful projects. Her past collaborations include documenting enslaved families in antebellum and post emancipation sites in Texas. She also conducts bus tours of African American historic sites across the country. In addition, Debra is a professional genealogist who helps people discover their ancestral heritage and identity.
BOOK A TOUR
Freedmen’s Town Museums Houston
Museum visits are by appointment only
713-739-0163 | information.ftm@gmail.com
Stay in the Know