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The community of Clarksville is an early freedman’s community that was established after the Civil War. Freed slave Charles Clark founded the community in 1871 as a place where former slaves could reunite with their family members, direct their own lives and openly practice their religion for the first time. Peter Tucker, a former slave, purchased land from real estate speculators around 1875. It is believed he built the home around 1879. Between 1879 and 1887 Mary and Edwin Smith purchased the home. Later, Hezikiah Haskell, a union soldier and “buffalo soldier,” and a member of the black cavalry boarded with the Smiths and later married their daughter Catherine. In 1892, the Smiths deeded the home to their daughter. After the death of Hezikiah Haskell, Jr. In 1976, the home was deeded to the city of Austin and used as a senior lunch program site for a number of years. The Hezikiah Haskell house is a cumberland-style, single-wall construction, board and batten home with double separated front doors. The house sits on its original location and maintains a high degree of physical integrity. The exterior is unpainted board and batten and the roof is of rough-hewn cedar shingle shakes. The floor plan is unaltered, although rooms were added to the back. They no longer stand, but a few original windows and some of the square nails used for construction still exist. The Hezikiah Haskell house stands as a reminder of Clarksville’s historic and cultural roots and of the struggles of the people who moved there to live in freedom after years of servitude and separation. Clarksville is listed on the national register of historic places as a historic district. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2012 |
