Sculptures on display at the Black History Museum in Marble Falls. Courtesy photos
View imporant chapters in Marble Falls’ story at the new Black History Museum. It opens Feb. 22 at St. Frederick Baptist Church, another key figure in the lives of African Americans in the Highland Lakes.
The Black History Museum has been under construction for years on the grounds of the 132-year-old church, located at 301 Avenue N in Marble Falls.
A grand opening ceremony is from noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 22.
Exhibits feature important people in Black history across the country as well as Highland Lakes residents who have had impactful careers and lives.
The museum is a lesson on the past for present and future generations, said organizer and St. Frederick’s member Bessie Jackson.
“I want the students who are here today and will be here in the future to see the people who were here before them and know that they were part of this community,” she told The Picayune Magazine, a sister publication of 101HighlandLakes.com. “I want them to grow up to learn not to settle for nothing. I want them to see the positive that can come out of life if you apply yourself.”
One of the exhibits showcasing that tenacity is on Edward Abney, a 1981 Marble Falls High School graduate who is now a medical technician for LENSAR in Altamonte Springs, Florida. He builds robotic laser systems that cut the operating time for cataract surgery down from hours to minutes.
Abney plans to be at the Feb. 22 opening of the Black History Museum.
“I think this is a great thing Marble Falls is doing,” he told The Picayune Magazine. “I want the young African-Americans there to get a good feel for their school, for the city they are in, and know the people who came before them and contributed and paved the way for them.”
ST. FREDERICK’S OWN HISTORY
St. Frederick Baptist Church has been the heart of Marble Falls’ Black community for well over a century. It was founded in 1893 by Dicey Yett Johnson, a freed slave. She and husband Green Johnson also established a school for Black children. Both church and school were held in the town’s Masonic lodge.
St. Frederick’s move a couple more times before being rebuilt in its current location at Avenue N and Third Street.
In 2015, a Texas Historical Commission marker was erected on church grounds, highlighting the story of this significant part of Marble Falls.
