Houston City Council unanimously voted to relocate bricks from the historic Freedmen’s Town that it had been storing in a warehouse to the Fourth Ward, where the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy will have custody of the bricks for safeguard and protection.
How we got here
During construction in 2025, contractors and developers illegally removed bricks and failed to follow the designated process for protecting them, District C council member Abbie Kamin said during a March 25 council meeting.
“Over time, those bricks that have been removed, the city of Houston has actually been storing them,” she said. “We had an archeological expert come in, tag them, we have residents from the area that are supervising the operation, storage and placement of them, and they’re all cataloged.”
The bricks were sitting in a makeshift storage facility, Kamin said, but now they should be moved back to the community.
“That’s their rightful home, and I just want to spotlight, not only the importance of continuing to protect the brick streets in Freedmen’s Town and make sure that we’re following the process to protect the streets,” she said. “But for the bricks we do have, make sure that we have them going to their rightful place, which is within the custody of the HFTC with the help of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.”
The history
Freedmen’s Town was founded in 1865 by formerly enslaved people who had been granted freedom two and a half years prior. They settled in the community and built homes, schools, businesses, churches and brick streets throughout the neighborhood, according to HFTC.
Today, Freedmen’s Town is considered Houston’s first Heritage District, and the city works with HFTC on the best ways to preserve the neighborhood.
Something to note
The HFTC and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston will provide over $19,000 in funding to transport the bricks and to install a safeguard building to protect them.
