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When TxDOT began the project of extending Mopac beyond Parmer Lane, they ran smack dab into some history of the immediate area. Rubin Hancock, who was once a slave to the famous Hancock family of Austin, became one of the first African-American landowners in Texas after being freed. This area was where the farm once stood!
The best place to park is in the parking lot of a building at the corner of Oak Creek and Mopac. Careful, as there seems to be several homeless camps close by.
In an area now overrun by the busy interchange of Loop 1 and Parmer Lane in north Austin lie the remnants of what was once a thriving community of freed African-American slaves. Prominent in that community were Rubin and Elizabeth Hancock who, after emancipation, bought land, established a farm, and raised a family. Their story—and that of their descendents and neighbors—has been brought to life through archeological and historical investigations.
Rubin Hancock, his wife, Elizabeth, and many of their family members, were slaves of the prominent Austin judge, John Hancock. Little is known for certain about their early life, other than that they were all born into slavery—Rubin in Alabama and Elizabeth in Tennessee—during the 1840s. Although Texas did not recognize slave marriages (which otherwise would have resulted in written records), it is known that the two were married, or committed as life partners, before they gained their freedom. More is known about the life and philosophies of the judge. Despite his reliance on slavery, Judge Hancock was adamantly opposed to Texas' secession from the Union. After being elected to the state legislature in 1860 as a Unionist, he was removed from office when he refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy.
The1860 Census entry for Judge Hancock notes his ownership of 15 slaves. Although none were individually listed, it is likely that Rubin Hancock and his brothers Orange, Salem, and Peyton were among them at that time. It is also likely, according to family histories, that the four men were half-brothers of the judge. Their considerable duties would have included clearing land, planting, and working a 300-acre dairy farm; maintaining cattle and other livestock on the judge's extensive ranch lands; and building a variety of structures.
The end of the Civil War in 1865 brought emancipation for slaves, announced in Texas on June 19, 1865. Sometime after that, Rubin and his three brothers bought land in the area north of Austin, making them landowners at a time when many others—Whites and African-Americans alike—were sharecroppers and tenants. With few resources available beyond their own strength and determination— and the possible assistance of Rubin's former master, the judge—Rubin and Elizabeth Hancock established a productive farm, raised a family of five children, and helped establish a small but stable community of African-American farmers.
Known as Duval, the community was bound by family ties and a strong church, St. Stephen's Missionary Baptist, in which social gatherings, school classes for African-American children, and worship services were held. The coming of the A&NW railroad through the Hancock farm in 1881 meant an influx of families into the area and the new recreational resort of Summers Grove (later Waters Park). It also provided a means of transport for farm products, such as cotton from Rubin Hancock's fields, to nearby markets.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgnl ba gur jrfg fvqr bs gur srapr!