In 1840, the small town of Houston was divided into four political areas known as wards that were defined by Main Street and Congress Street. The Third Ward was the area east of Main, south of Congress, and extending to the city limits. The City was governed by the mayor and two aldermen from each ward.After slavery ended in Texas on June 19, 1865, ex-slaves were forced to live in separate enclaves within each of Houston’s wards. As the Anglo population moved out of the inner city, the African American population in the Third Ward increased, and they built their own churches, schools, businesses, and other institutions. Many of those institutions still thrive today.
In the 1950s, almost 30,000 African Americans lived in the Third Ward, representing a majority of the population. Like most African American communities during segregation, the Third Ward was like a separate city within Houston, with Dowling Street as its main thoroughfare. The street was lined with black-owned businesses, churches, fraternal offices, apartment buildings, single-family housing, theaters, restaurants, and nightclubs.
