Baseball legends including Satchel Paige, Smokey Joe Williams, Buck O’Neil and Austin native Willie Wells all played on this field, which also has a special connection to Jackie Robinson. It is the athletic field for the historically black university Huston-Tillotson and it is named for a former president of the college, Rev. It was once the home of the Austin Black Senators, a minor league team that was a part of the Texas Negro League. Founded with the support of Christian congregations as part of a movement to provide education to formerly enslaved Africans in the South during the Reconstruction period after the Civil War.ĭowns Field has been synonymous with baseball and the African American Community of East Austin since the 1940s. It was formed by a merger of two colleges, one of which was chartered in 1877, making it the oldest college in Austin. Huston-Tillotson University, a historically black institution, is the oldest university in Austin offering four-year degrees in business, education, and the arts and sciences. The District birthed the rich heritage and cultural contributions of Austin’s African American community. This area was originally named the “Negro District” in an attempt to address what city officials called the “Negro Problem.” This area has since been renamed and became the home of Black residents, businesses, schools, and churches. As a part of its 1928 Master Plan, the City of Austin forced Black residents to live within a 6-Square mile boundary to maintain segregationist policies.
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