The Enduring Legacy of Houston’s Yates Family

The story of the Yates family is an important one in Houston’s history. Reverend John Henry (Jack) helped shape the development and culture of the city’s Fourth Ward, known as Freedmen’s Town during the late 1800s. His life was dedicated to establishing the necessary institutions and businesses that allowed this African-American community to flourish during the era of change that followed emancipa-tion. His son Rutherford B.H. Yates followed in his father’s footsteps by also working to improve the quality of life in this city neighborhood during the 20th century. Olee Yates McCullough, Rutherford’s daughter, inspired the effort to save not just her family’s home and heritage, but to protect and preserve a piece of Houston’s past—the story of Freedmen’s Town

Jack Yates, wife Harriet, and their children came to Texas with their slave holder in 1864 or 1865. The family moved to Houston soon after emancipation became official in Texas, June 19, 1865 (the day now referred to as Juneteenth). Yates worked hauling goods around the city and began preaching as a Baptist minister. By the time son Rutherford was born in 1878, Reverend Yates had laid a solid foundation of civic

obligation for his family. As pastor of Antioch Baptist Church and then Bethel Baptist Church, two of the city’s most influential institutions, he encouraged parishioners to become landowners, educate themselves, and learn a trade. Providing education for the freedmen community was an important mission, and the minister successfully lobbied for the establishment of Bishop College in Marshall, the state’s first black Baptist institution of higher learning. He also helped create Houston Baptist Academy (1885), which pro-vided primary, secondary, and industrial coursework as an alternative to the public high school.

With the help of Trinity Methodist Church members and community leaders, Yates led the effort to found Houston’s Emancipation Park (1872) located in the Third Ward. The Reverend and his coalition bought the 10-acre property as a place where African Americans could commemorate Juneteenth. The public park was later donated to the City of Houston.

Reverend John Henry Yates died in 1897, and 29 years later, Houston Independent School District named a public high school in his honor. His home, built around 1870, was

By Debra Blacklock-Sloan

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moved downtown to Sam Houston Park in 1994 and restored by the Harris County Heritage Society.

Because of Yates’ formidable example, each of his children finished college and became educators, including son Rutherford Birchard Hayes. Graduating in 1906 with a degree in printing from Bishop College, the institution his father helped establish, Rutherford taught school for several years in Palestine and Dallas, as well as Louisiana, before returning to Houston in 1908. Yates, wife Erie, and their three children, Johnnie Mae, Olee, and Rutherford, Jr., lived in his boyhood house until their new home (now the R.B.H. Yates Museum) was completed in 1912. The structure was built on an adjoining lot, part of several parcels of property purchased by his father.

In 1922, Rutherford opened the Yates Printing Company with his brother Paul and trained many young African- American men to be printers. In addition to running this business, R.B.H. Yates was an educator, writer (he and his brother Paul wrote a book about their father), and church deacon who worked to provide services for Freedmen’s Town, including streetcars and paved roads.

After Rutherford Yates’ death in 1944, his family’s legacy remained strong in the minds of many in the community. So much so, that in 1995 Gladys House, resident and activ-ist in the National Register District of Freedmen’s Town in Houston, contacted preservationist Catherine M. Roberts about the possibility of purchasing Rutherford Yates’ home. The three-bedroom, one-story Queen Anne cottage had been vacant since the mid-1980s, and House knew the historic home was endangered, having been put on the city’s demoli-tion list. Roberts met Rutherford’s 80-year-old daughter and former educator, Olee Yates McCullough, who envisioned a printing museum that would preserve the legacy of her fam-ily and the Freedmen’s Town community. Eventually, Roberts purchased the Yates home after several failed attempts to find a buyer. She raised more than $130,000 to restore the struc-ture while preserving its architectural integrity.

The Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum was incorporated on December 26, 1996, and officially opened in 1997. Sadly, Olee McCullough died before seeing her vision come to fruition. The museum stands as a testament to the Yates fam-ily members who were inspired to redefine and create a better life for a people once enslaved. Their legacy has left a visible and lasting mark on Houston’s history and paved the way for a brighter future for subsequent generations of African Americans.

Debra Blacklock-Sloan is the historic research director for the Yates Museum.

Opposite page, left to right: Reverend Jack Yates, his son Rutherford, and granddaughter Olee Yates McCullough. All images are courtesy of the Yates Museum.

THE RUTHERFORD B.H. YATES MUSEUM, HOUSTON

The Yates Museum’s mission is to promote ar-cheological research, preserve historic structures on original homesteads, promote education, art, print-ing, and the cultural history of the African diaspora, as well as provide internships for students studying architecture, history, and science. The history of the endangered Freedmen’s Town community remains vibrant through a permanent exhibit and the study of objects, memories, documentation, education, and outreach. The museum is one of six historic struc-tures located on 10 archeological sites that are now owned by the organization and form part of a pro-posed Educational and Cultural Corridor©.

The archeological research is conducted by Yates Community Archaeology Project. It is an ongoing ar-cheology project which, as funds permit, takes place on properties that the museum owns, or has access to through an affiliation with other community mem-bers.The work has included archeology field classes for three local universities, mitigation and research archeology on Freedmen’s Town properties, oral his-tory and ethnographic research, and a wide variety of both outreach and educational activities.

The Rutherford B.H. Yates Museum is located at 1319 Andrews and 1314 Andrews Streets, Houston, TX 77019, in the National Historic District of Freed-men’s Town.

To assist the R.B.H. Yates Museum, contact www.yatesmuseum.org, or call 713-739-0163.

Editor’s Note: The dual treatment of the word archeology (and archaeology) is intentional because the Yates Community Archaeology Project uses a style that is different from the one in Texas HERITAGE magazine.

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