Divided City at the Austin History Center If youre in Austin, or plan to visit in the next few months, theres an excellent exhibit at the AHC that showcases documents and images related to slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction in this part of Texas. Its a straightforward exhibit that does an excellent job of using primary sources to tell the story of what was happening in our little town 150 years ago. In graduate school I focused on slavery, Reconstruction, and legal history, particularly in Texas. So walking through the exhibit I felt like I was among friends -- hey, theres Edmund J. Davis of Semicolon Court fame, thats A.J. Hamilton with his classic urban woodsman beard, and theres that crusty old coot, Reuben Hornsby. And lots of local trivia is on display. How many times have you driven by the Anderson Mill exit on 183? Well, back in the day, there was a mill up that way owned by a guy named Fred. Thats not right! It was owned by a guy named Anderson. Anyway, as I looked over the exhibits today, it was fun to listen as conversations swirled by; again and again, people were surprised at how significant slavery was to the economy of this area. Mary Anne and Lizzie couldve told em that . . . . library.austintexas.gov/ahc
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 04:07:47 +0000
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