Buda in Hays County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Antioch Colony

Photographed by Richard Denney, March 13, 2016

1. Antioch Colony Marker

Inscription. Antioch Colony was a rural farming community formed during Reconstruction by a group of formerly enslaved African Americans. Although freed from slavery after the Civil War, African Americans still found it difficult to purchase land. In 1859, Anglo businessman Joseph F. Rowley purchased 490 acres in north Hays County, along Onion Creek. He began selling parcels to former slaves in 1870 at $5.00 per acre. Rowley, perhaps in an effort to protect the new landowners from losing their property, indicated in many of the deeds that the African American owners could not sell the property without Rowley’s consent. After moving to Missouri, Rowley rescinded the stipulation in 1893, but the document was not filed in Hays County until 1913.

Community residents Elias and Clarisa Bunton donated property for a community school and church in 1874, and the building served as the school until 1939. The following year, the school was relocated to Black Colony Road and served Antioch until students were integrated into the Buda school system in 1961. A Baptist church and a Methodist church were organized in the community, and there was

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also an active Masonic Lodge and Order of the Eastern Star chapter in Antioch.

Antioch remained an active farm community through the 1930s and 1940s. By the 1950s, many residents had moved away in search of better employment opportunities and the community was virtually abandoned. Beginning in the 1970s former residents and their descendants began returning to Antioch, some purchasing the land that their ancestors had previously owned, and the community continues to grow.

Erected 2009 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16255.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.

Location. 30° 5.145′ N, 97° 51.018′ W. Marker is in Buda, Texas, in Hays County. It is on Old Black Colony Road (County Route 147) west of Cole Springs Road (County Route 148), on the left when traveling west. Marker is in the small Antioch Colony Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Buda TX 78610, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

Photographed by Richard Denney, March 13, 2016

2. Antioch Colony Marker

this marker is in the Hill Country

and in the Austin Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South.

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 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Buda School (approx. 0.4 miles away); Buda United Methodist Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); Buda Christian Church (approx. 0.4 miles away); First Baptist Church of Buda (approx. 0.4 miles away); Buda (approx. half a mile away); McElroy-Severn House (approx. 0.9 miles away); Live Oak Cemetery (approx. 3.4 miles away); Manchaca United Methodist Church (approx. 3.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Buda.

Antioch Community Cemetery image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Richard Denney, March 13, 2016

3. Antioch Community Cemetery

Antioch Community Cemetery is less than a mile west of the marker on Old Black Colony Road.

Photographed by Richard Denney, March 13, 2016

4. Antioch Community Cemetery

In heaven.
John Bunton
Son of
E. & C. Bunton.
Died
Jan. 9. 1880.
Aged 16 Years.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 15, 2016, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,344 times since then and 155 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 15, 2016, by Richard Denney of Austin, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.