Port Arthur in Jefferson County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Remembering Ancestors
Port Arthur, Texas
Photographed by Kaycee Michelle Hailey
1. Remembering Ancestors Marker
Commemorating the lives of African Ancestors who perished during the Middle Passage and those who survived and were transported through Sabine Pass, Texas
Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of
the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.
from Lift Every Voice and Sing
James Weldon Johnson
Erected 2023 by The African American Cultural Society; Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project, Inc.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1817.
Location. 29° 52.271′ N, 93° 56.011′ W. Marker is in Port Arthur, Texas, in Jefferson County. It is on 4th Street north of Austin
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Golden Triangle. It is also in the American South, on the Gulf Coast, and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Port Arthur-Beaumont Interurban Railway (within shouting distance of this marker); South County Office Building (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Francis John (Frank) Trost (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Kansas City Southern Railway in Port Arthur (approx. 0.4 miles away); Lakeshore/Lions Park (approx. 0.6 miles away); Arthur Edward Stilwell (approx. 0.6 miles away); Gates Memorial Library (approx. 0.7 miles away); Port Arthur College (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Arthur.
Additional keywords. Middle Passage Ceremonies and Port Markers Project; Middle Passage; human trafficking; Transatlantic Slave Trade; UNESCO Routes of Enslaved Peoples (Slave Route Project); Trans-Atlantic Trade; UNESCO Site of Memory; International Coalition Site of Conscience
Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, February 25, 2026
2. Remembering Ancestors Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on April 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 25, 2024, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. This page has been viewed 346 times since then and 85 times this year. Last updated on April 24, 2026, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. Photos: 1. submitted on March 25, 2024, by Kaycee Hailey of Charlotte, North Carolina. 2. submitted on March 1, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
