A former slave enslavement site on the Underground Railroad, which helped slaves escape Mexico in the 1800s, has been named a national site in San Juan, Texas ( Border Report ).
The National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom was recently added by the National Park Service, which includes San Juan, Texas’s Jackson Ranch Church and Martin Jackson Cemetery. The National Park Service notes that San Antonio’s Mission San Jose is the only other Texas-listed page.
Seventeen other locations were also listed in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
The fact that these places assisted slaves traveling north to Mexico, where slavery was prohibited, is what makes the South Texas entries special.
Because background “is not total until all accents are represented,” according to National Park Service Director Chuck Sams, who noted that these locations were places where brave passes and where slaves sought shelter.
Pablo” Paul” Villarreal Jr., says he looks up to his fantastic- great- excellent- great grandfather, Nathaniel Jackson, who started the Underwater Railroad efforts in South Texas when he arrived on the border in 1857.
Jackson was the pale child of a prisoner owner who grew up in Georgia where in 1804 his father, Joseph, purchased therefore 4- year- ancient Matilda.
Matilda and Jackson’s union became his common-law wife after they fell in love. In 1857, the family moved to Alabama, and they traveled to South Texas in a caravan of five covered wagons in search of Matamoros, Mexico.
They emigrated to San Juan and began assisting slaves in moving across the Rio Grande to Mexico for unknown reasons before settling on the banks of the Rio Grande for unknown reasons.
Although no official records were kept at the time, historians believe upwards of 10,000 people could have been helped by their Underground Railroad segment.
Villarreal said on Tuesday at the Eli Jackson Cemetery, which is one block from the Martin Jackson Cemetery and Jackson Ranch Church, that” this area here right now means a lot to me.”
Villarreal crosses his great-grandfather’s grave, Federico Jackson, who passed away the same day as his cousin Pauleno Caseres. Both were born on July 18, 1893, and both died in a shooting on the river on Dec. 29, 1920.
” It means so much because I’m proud of what they did”, said Villarreal, who also is the tax assessor- collector for Hidalgo County.
” The greatest creation that God created was us, human beings. And I find it unbelievable that people turn around and seduce another person and turn them into slaves. Thank God for granting them all freedom. And that’s part of my family”, he said.
Villarreal says he is pleased that these sites have received national attention.
Sylvia Ramirez, a long-time member of the Eli Jackson Cemetery Preservation Board, is also a Jackson family member.
” This has been my goal: To preserve the church and cemetery. And anything that can help to do that, I will support”, Ramirez told Border Report.
The Eli Jackson Cemetery was designated a historic Texas cemetery by the Texas Historical Commission in 2005. The Jackson Ranch Church was designated as a historic site by the commission in 1983.
A law that required the construction of the border wall when it was being built through this area of San Juan during the Trump administration forced the closure of the small chapel, cemetery, and Eli Jackson Cemetery.
Nathaniel Jackson’s tombstone washed away in Eli Jackson Cemetery, but his family is unsure where it is now. Ten years ago, a flood destroyed his gravestone.
However, they do know that their ancestors were courageous, and Villarreal hopes that this recognition will lead to greater understanding of this fact.
” I would like for more people to learn about the history of Mexico,” Villarreal said. When Nathaniel Jackson built a church, all the people who wanted to be free, they wanted a better life, and they would travel all the way to this region. And for me, having a great heart as my great-great grandfather did means a lot.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at [email protected].
