Dixie Community

Jasper County, TX

Status: Located

Year Established: 1853

Council of Governments: DETCOG

Public History: There are no current descriptions related to Dixie Community in the public record. If you are aware of any sources that we may have missed please share them with us.

Community History: Richard “Uncle Dick” Seale was born enslaved about 1797 in Alexandria, Virginia. At some point Joshua Seale became his master. They settled in the Indian Creek area near Bevilport, Texas about 1850, and Joshua established a plantation there.
Records show that Richard Seale was allowed to join the Baptist church that Joshua and his family attended in Mississippi. In 1853 Joshua Seale assisted his enslaved, under the leadership of Richard “Uncle Dick” Seale, in building a church. This church, known as the Dixie Baptist Church, is the oldest protestant church built by the enslaved west of the Mississippi River.

Today’s descendants remain committed to their inherited values and the Freedom Colony lives on. They have established a cultural center on the former campus of the old George Washington Carver School, where they tell the story of their past and offer inspiration for the future.

Cemetery: Indian Creek Cemetery

Church: Dixie Missionary Baptist Church

School: Beech Grove Colored Elementary School [later named G.W. Carver (Gymnasium)]