Lone Star Colony (Jerusalem)

Freestone County, TX

Status: Located

Year Established: Unknown

Council of Governments: HOTCOG

Public History: Jerusalem, on the banks of Upper Keechi Creek five miles southeast of Teague in west central Freestone County, had a school for black students by 1891. In 1893 the school had sixty-seven pupils enrolled, but by 1903 it had only seven. The community also had the Jerusalem Church. In the 1930s Jerusalem had a church, a cemetery, and a number of dwellings. The church and the cemetery remained at the site in the late 1980s.

Community History: From Freestone County GenWeb: “After the Civil War, a large community of emancipated African Americans lived near Butler. The community had two churches and two schools, Lone Star and Jerusalem. After the Jerusalem church was burned down by arsonists in 1950, the overall community and cemetery became known as Lone Star.” The Lone Star School’s construction was funded in part by the Rosenwald Fund in 1923-24. Lone Star Baptist Church is still standing in the community. The community has also been known as Jerusalem.

Cemetery: unknown (Jerusalem Church)

Church: Lone Star Baptist Church