History
Hall's Town: Bryan's Freedman community after the Civil War
Newly freed Black residents began buying land in Bryan's Hall's Addition as early as 1867, forming one of the county's first Freedman communities on the northeast edge of town.
After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people in Brazos County began buying lots on the northeast edge of Bryan. The area was known as Hall's Addition, or Hall's Town. Records show land sales to African Americans there by 1867. For many families, it was their first chance to own property.
The community faced ongoing legal and money barriers that stripped many families of their land over the following decades. Reconstruction violence — including the 1868 Millican massacre — affected Black life in Brazos County. Schools for Black children, starting with the Bryan School for Colored established in 1885, were kept separate from white schools under segregation. Bryan's public schools were not fully integrated until 1971.
The Brazos Valley African American Museum in Bryan is built on the site of one of those original Black schools. It preserves this history for the community. The Bryan 150 anniversary project at 150.bryantx.gov also documents the early founding period, including Freedman Town.
Source to confirm: Bryan 150 – Timeline: Early Bryan Foundation-1870