This is the oldest intact freedman’s town in the nation, and it’s one of the few left.
The neighborhood consists of mostly wood-frame houses that were built by former slaves in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The neighborhood is adjacent to the 1846 Oak Cliff Cemetery. And it’s built into the sloping terrain between Clarendon and East Eighth.
Don’t allow the “historic district” title to ease your preservation worries. The City of Dallas recently demolished several shotgun houses in the district because they were not up to code.
City Council passed an ordinance in 2010 to allow the City Attorney’s office to order demolition of properties 3,000 square feet or less in the district if they are non-code compliant.
The district enjoys no blanket protection from demolition, and none of its buildings is specifically protected.
